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Wholesale changes urged after Shohag’s ban
SPORTS REPORTER
Bangladesh’s football fraternity was rocked on Friday when FIFA’s adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee sanctioned the general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), Abu Nayeem Shohag, imposing on him a two-year ban from all football-related activities for having used false and/or falsified documents to justify payments made by the BFF with FIFA funds.
Like the fans, the news came as a shock to former national footballers and organisers as well but they were not ready to point fingers only towards Shohag. Instead, they saw it as a collective failure of the governing body of football in the country, currently under the helm of Kazi Salahuddin.
Former Bangladesh captain Arif Hossain Moon, who claimed to have resigned from the post of the BFF’s executive committee in March this year for not being able to stop such irregularities, informed that Shohag was made a scapegoat as he just followed instructions from the top.
“Shohag just became a scapegoat because he did as he was instructed. I wouldn’t say it’s the board but rather two to four individuals who directed Shohag,” Moon said.
Moon also slammed Salahuddin, saying that the BFF boss has tarnished the image of the country’s football as an organiser.
“Kazi Salahuddin’s image as a footballer has been tarnished only due to his failure as an organiser. I, still to this moment, have the utmost respect for the former footballer Kazi Salahuddin but I have absolute disgust for organiser Kazi Salahuddin.
“This man [Salahuddin] has deprived a generation of football only because of his ego, stubbornness, and attitude. He has ruined a generation. In every board meeting, some of us have taken the initiative to talk but there is no point because the constitution of the football federation is such that the president is all in all. What can you say there? We have tried a lot from the inside but we couldn’t change their mentality,” Moon added.
Such accusations of irregularities within BFF are nothing new. Late Badal Roy, another former footballer, and ex-BFF vice-president, had always remained vocal in questioning the financial irregularities of the federation in the past.
Another former captain and coach, Golam Sarwar Tipu, said that the time has come for a massive overhaul in Bangladesh football, and urged for a change in the entire BFF management in order to improve the standard of football in the country.
“Things won’t change just by replacing Shohag as those who are in control at the moment, they might appoint someone else and guide the person in a similar manner. But obviously, I would like to see some good changes. But what else can you expect from this management as they will only say they are sad. I don’t think things will change under this management,” said Tipu.
While another former national striker Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, who also was an executive committee member of BFF from 2008 to 2016, said that the incident will drag the country’s football through the mud.
The [BFF] General Secretary has placed us in crisis, so we will not interfere unnecessarily. However, if FIFA requests, we are ready to cooperate and, if needed, investigate. We, on behalf of the government, don’t want to interfere, or do anything prematurely.
Zahid Ahsan Russel
The state minister for Youth and Sports
[Abu Nayeem Shohag] He told me that he felt that the decision of [FIFA’s] Ethics Committee was unfair, and that he will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Kazi Salahuddin
BFF president
BFF supplied evidences of approvals from FIFA for each of the transactions, however the Adjudicatory Chamber most illegally did not take into consideration such critical evidence and passed the decision communicated on 14 April 2023, which makes it apparent that the decision is not only erroneous and defective but also targetted and biased towards Bangladesh Football Federation -- A statement from the law firm representing Shohag read.

‘I am clean, but I take responsibility’
The FIFA-imposed suspension of Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag due to financial irregularities and misuse of funds has been the talk of the town, with many pointing their fingers at the federation’s top brass for turning a blind eye for so long. BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, who is serving his fourth consecutive term at the helm of Bangladesh football since 2008, spoke to The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman after a short media brief. The excerpts of that conversation are below:
The Daily Star (DS): Following the BFF general secretary’s suspension by FIFA, everyone is raising fingers at you and asking why the right systems were not in place.
Kazi Salahuddin (KS): It is understandable for a second grader to cause this problem due to laziness and eccentricity. If I knew about their laziness, I would have never allowed it.
DS: FIFA even proved financial irregularities in repairing and installing water pipes at the BFF. What do you say about it?
KS : I am not doing business here. I don’t know how the tenders are floated and how the money is given away to the parties. It is their duty to buy everything. I did not even know that they bought a bus (for the women’s football team) because it was purchased by the purchase committee. The cheque is signed by any two of three and I sign after (Abdus) Salam Murshedy (chairman of the finance committee) signs it.
DS: Did you have an inkling that your employees may be punished by FIFA?
KS: When they travelled to Zurich, I was a hundred per cent sure they were going to get punished.
DS: Do agree that the BFF’s internal and external audits were faulty?
KS: What I have heard is that FIFA are not talking about faults in the account, but rather faults in the system. They gave us Tk 10 and the account kept it intact. But they questioned the system. I agree that there might have been a fault in the system.
DS: How big of a blow is this for you going forward?
KS: It’s definitely a big blow. But I still believe there was no stealing. I don’t find any money at BFF. Then how can it be stolen. You never found any documents about me spending BFF money for trips abroad. I pay the hotel fare out of pocket when I travel to Zurich. I am the only (federation) president who gives money from his own pocket to run the sport.
DS: Who should be blamed for financial irregularities and misuse of FIFA funds?
KS: I don’t want to blame anyone. I want to take the responsibility on my own shoulders because I don’t have any benefit or disadvantage to sit here. However, everybody in the BFF knows everything hundred per cent.
DS: What is the future of Bangladesh football?
KS: I actually don’t know. My mandate is up to 2024 and I think there will be no problems getting funds from FIFA, who are now happy with the BFF account because they went through it from 2016 to 2020. But it is true that we may face problems roping in sponsors for football events.
DS: What is the message for football loving people of the country?
KS: I am completely clean but I am taking all responsibility of this incident as the head of Bangladesh Football Federation.