Federation Cup final marred by ugly incident

November 23, 2018 was a Friday. I had kept all my work and meetings aside so that I can watch the final football match of the 2018 Bangladesh Federation Cup. The two top teams, Abahani and Bashundhara Kings, were about to lock horns with each other. Half of the 25,000-capacity Dhaka Stadium was filled up by fans of the two sides. Both teams played good and entertaining football. The atmosphere of the stadium, as telecast live, reminded me of the heydays of Bangladesh football of the '80s and '90s.

The thrilling match ended with Abahani winning by 3-1 goals. It was a phenomenal turnaround for the team, which was trailing by 0-1 around halftime.

I enjoyed the match. But an incident during the second half of the match made me sad and upset. The players engaged in an ugly scuffle following a foul. The referee had to show four red cards. This was shameful. Sportsmanship is something that these players need to understand and learn. Winning or losing is a part of the game.

Anyway, congratulations to Abahani for winning the cup, and kudos to Bashundhara for their spirited performance.

Mohammed Sohel Hara

Banasree, Dhaka

[email protected]