Bangladesh fine top soccer club for alleged match-fixing

Monday, 18 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Bangladesh fined its domestic football league champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club $27,000 on Saturday for their involvement in a recent match-fixing scandal, officials said.

The fine, the biggest ever imposed by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on any local club, came after it was alleged that Jamal took part in a fixed game against Rahmatganj MFS in the country’s maiden professional league in June.

Jamal came from two goals down to beat Rahmatganj 5-2, which helped them earn three valuable points and win the title in their debut season.

The charge could not be proved beyond any doubt but an investigation carried out by the BFF concluded that the two clubs had reached an agreement about the outcome of the game.

“We have found in our investigation that the two clubs had an understanding between them before the game,” the head of the ivestigating committee Abdus Salam Murshedi told a news conference on Friday.

Soccer is hugely popular in Bangladesh, although its national team is languishing at 163rd in the world rankings.