BFF finally enforces FIFA ruling
Following their failure to clear certain unpaid wages within the stipulated time set by FIFA several months ago, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) deducted three points each from Mohammedan SC and Sheikh Russel KC yesterday.
As per the Dispute Resolution Chambers ruling, FIFA ordered the BFF to have the two teams clear their dues with the individuals in question --Mohammedan's previous coach Emeka Ezeugo and Sheikh Russel's Serbian Miroslav Savanovic-- in October last year. However as neither club did as instructed within the timeframe, FIFA instructed the game's local governing body to deduct three points each from the sides' last Bangladesh Premier League tallies.
Though both clubs eventually cleared their debts and then appealed for exemption from the penalty, the International football governing body stuck to its decision, forcing the BFF to follow through as well.
The decision to deduct the points was made yesterday, almost four-and-a-half months after the league concluded, by the Professional League Committee chaired by BFF senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy.
After the penalties were made, the finalised 12-team table basically remained the same as Mohammedan SC and Sheikh Russel kept their fifth and sixth position finishes on 29 and 24 points respectively.
In addition, though it was decided at the previous league committee meeting that each club can field three out of the four foreign players registered in their squads, the clubs yesterday demanded the right to field all four recruits, citing the AFC Cup as an example.
“We will discuss about the eligibility of four foreign players in a match at the next meeting of the BFF executive committee and take the decision as the clubs raised this logical issue,” said Murshedy.
On the other hand, there were previous demands made to actually reduce the number of foreign players in domestic competitions. Last season, the BFF gave in to those demands and reduced the quota for foreign players in a match to two per team but now it seems they are reversing those decisions.
Interestingly, the league committee is also mulling over whether to introduce 'the players by choice' system to give an edge to clubs in the 2019-20 season.
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