A total of 10 players and officials of fourth-tier football outfit Kingstar SC were found guilty of assaulting two referees inside the stadium, but no police case has been filed against any so far.
The disciplinary committee of Bangladesh Football Federation punished all offenders with six-month suspensions from all kind of the game’s activities.
The club also banned three of them for life but the referees restrained from filing any criminal case against the assaulters.
A source close to the two assaulted match officials informed Dhaka Tribune that the referees did not want to get into further “hassles” by filing a case.
BFF sources said the federation encouraged the two referees to file the case but the efforts went in vain for similar reason.
Last time a referee was assaulted, it happened outside the stadium just before the Covid-19 pandemic where a group of offenders attacked the referee in Arambagh.
They were linked with the then second-tier outfit Fakirerpool YMC located in the same area.
The referee filed a criminal case and the attackers were later punished.
It has been learned that the police on duty during the match after which the latest assault on referee took place entered the crime scene following the attack.
The law enforcers also asked the referees to file a case but they refrained from doing so.
It was the second day of the blockade called by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies and there was a string of arson incidents in the capital.
A bus was set on fire in front of a school near the match venue in the morning.
It was on the same road that goes straight to the stadium.
The policemen were on high alert when the match kicked off and asked the BFF officials to call them if any occurrence took place inside the venue, but it was too late.
Dhaka Tribune recently got a video of the assault where a group of Kingstar officials and players were seen hitting the referees in a group, including one striking with a chair.
Attacking referees is not uncommon in Bangladesh but what was rare this time is that the club’s head coach, managers and players were directly involved.
A ball boy was also found guilty of joining the attack and he too got away with similar BFF suspension.