Munir Hossain no more

Retired FIFA referee and former general secretary of the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation Munir Hossain breathed his last at a hospital in the capital at around 6:30am yesterday. He was 84.

Munir was suffering from prostatism for quite some time and was admitted at the hospital for the last 12 days. He left behind two daughters, one son and a host of well wishers.

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He was laid to rest at the Gopibagh Graveyard after his last namaz-e-zanaja at the Maniknagar Jam-e- Masjid after Asr prayers.

After his football career was cut short due to injury, Munir became a first class referee in 1968. He was one of the first four referees from the country to get a FIFA international badge in 1974.

Munir conducted a host of local and international matches including the Asian Youth Football Championships in Kuwait and Iran and Kings Cup in Thailand.

Later on, he established himself as a successful sports organiser, getting involved with the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation in various scopes over a period of 26 years.

He became the federation's general secretary in 1988 and acted in that role over different terms till 2004. He was also the technical committee chairman of the Asian Kabaddi Federation from 1988 to 2004.

Veteran kabaddi coach Abdul Jalil expressed his sorrow at the departure of Munir.

“Munir Bhai took the federation's charge in various terms and he tried to run it even facing many obstacles,” Jalil said. “We have lost a great sports organiser.”

Ibrahim Nesar, deputy chairman of the referees' committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation, said Munir was a role model for referees due to his strong personality.

“He was a fearless referee and we learnt a lot from him,” Nesar said. “He had strong personality which forced footballers to obey his instructions.”