Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) imposed disciplinary action on more than 31 players, coaches, and officials on Saturday. This is the highest number of penalties ever handed down in Bangladeshi hockey history, raising serious questions about whether such a large number of incidents have ever occurred before. The BHF's punishments range from warnings to lifetime bans.
The federation's disciplinary decisions almost exclusively targeted participants in the recently concluded Premier Hockey League, which wrapped up nearly a month ago. Former national hockey star Rafiqul Islam Kamal criticised the federation for taking so long to impose punitive measures. "Disciplinary action should have been taken when the incidents or problems arose," he said. "I can't understand the logic behind taking this decision after the league has already finished."
The BHF handed out fines to many players, coaches, officials, and clubs for various offences committed during various matches. Kamal questioned why Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) escaped punishment for refusing to play. "Refusing to play is a serious disciplinary offence," he said. "Yet MSC hasn't even received a warning, let alone a harsher penalty. On the other hand, all the players, coaches, and officials who were representing the Black and Whites have been handed heavy punishments."
The final match of the hockey league was a fiery encounter between Abahani and Mohammedan, with players from both teams becoming embroiled in a large brawl. Coaches and officials were also seen running around frantically during the commotion. Former hockey federation member Faisal Ahsan Ullah believes that the punishments are justified. "Pushing can be a momentary lapse in judgement," he said. "A hockey stick is a tempting target for hockey players, but it's very disappointing to see them use it to hit someone." While agreeing with the decision to impose penalties, Faisal disagreed with the severity of some of the punishments. "The offences were certainly deserving of punishment," he said, "but there were a lot of them, and several people have been given very long suspensions. This could have been avoided if things had been handled differently."
The players involved in these incidents also participated in the franchise hockey league in 2022, which was not marred by such unpleasant occurrences. This leads former star Kamal to believe that there is a problem with the mentality of the players, coaches, and officials involved in the Premier League. "If they can manage to behave themselves in the franchise league, why can't they do the same in the Premier League?" he asked. "Everyone needs to move away from this culture of causing trouble in this league. Disciplinary action is absolutely necessary, but it certainly shouldn't be handed out after the games are over."
Every sport has its own set of rules and regulations, and hockey is no exception. There is also a disciplinary code that outlines the penalties for breaking the rules. The disciplinary committee is typically responsible for making decisions based on this code. Given the unprecedented number of disciplinary actions taken in this instance, questions have naturally been raised about the identity of the chairman and members of the disciplinary committee. However, during a press conference held after a meeting on Sunday, the General Secretary of the Federation stated that the Disciplinary Committee is not obligated to disclose the Federation's internal affairs.
Faisal and Kamal, both former members of the federation, strongly disagree with this statement. "The disciplinary committee is a crucial committee within any federation," they said. "Its members should be known to the Federation and the relevant authorities. This would promote greater transparency and neutrality." Sports, by their very nature, involve debate, discussion, and criticism. Mohammedan's foreign coach, Gopinath, and club director, Jamal Rana, were both banned for life for criticising the Federation. Khandkar Jamiluddin, the former general secretary of the Hockey Federation, completely rejects this decision. "Criticism is inevitable," he said. "If that criticism is directed at the Federation, then it is punished accordingly. However, imposing a lifetime ban without following the proper procedures of warnings, fines, and match suspensions is simply unacceptable."
