Three key members of the Bangladesh football team — Anisur Rahman Zico, Topu Barman and Sheikh Morsalin — have been temporarily suspended by their club, Bashundhara Kings, following allegations of carrying an excessive amount of alcohol at the airport while returning from an AFC Cup match in the Maldives last month.
As a result of this suspension, they have also been excluded from the national team's training camp.
The Bangladesh Football Federation announced a revised preliminary national team squad for the upcoming World Cup pre-qualifying play-offs against the Maldives, which no longer includes these three crucial players.
The club's president, Imrul Hasan, acknowledged the situation, stating: "We received a complaint, which prompted the formation of a probe committee. We have temporarily banned the players pending the investigation's conclusion. The final decision will be made after the probe report is submitted."
The club had initially taken disciplinary action against the players upon receiving the complaint, but it appears that their explanations did not satisfy the management, leading to their temporary suspension.
The club have also forwarded the matter to the BFF for further review.
In addition to the three national team players, among the five accused are young left-back Rimon Hossain and experienced forward Towhidul Alam Sabuj.
Rimon and Sabuj have typically been on the bench for their club.
A source from the club informed Dhaka Tribune that the amount of alcohol these five players were carrying at the airport exceeded 60 bottles, which led to their uncomfortable situation.
Speaking to the media after an executive committee meeting at BFF House, BFF president Kazi Salahuddin hinted that the three national players could face similar suspension from the national team.
He explained: "We received a letter from the Kings stating that they suspended five players temporarily for disciplinary issues. The players have apologized to the club, so it's a pending situation, and nothing is final."
"It automatically becomes the BFF's responsibility to investigate when a club raise disciplinary matters. It's a challenging situation because if it's a disciplinary action, it must be applied uniformly to all players; otherwise, the club and BFF can't work together. So, I believe coach Javier Cabrera will likely not include them," he added.
Cabrera, the Spanish head coach, eventually omitted the three accused players, who were supposed to report to the national training camp.
Instead, he called up goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon, midfielder Mojibor Rahman Jony and forward Aminur Rahman Sojib as replacements.
The five accused players were not part of the Kings' squad when they hosted Odisha in their second AFC Cup match Monday, shedding light on the reason behind their exclusion.