Bangladesh will take the field against Asian champions Australia in their third World Cup joint qualifiers match in Perth on September 3 without their head coach Lodewijk de Kruif in the dug-out. The Dutch will be serving the second of his two-match sideline ban following his ill-tempered behaviour towards Singaporean referee Sukhbir Singh during Bangladesh’s opening game of the joint qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan on June 11.
Assistant coach Saiful Bari Titu will perform the job in the absence of De Kruif. Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag confirmed the Dutchman’s two-game ban yesterday and informed that De Kruif will return to Bangladesh on August 17 to take the responsibility and will also travel to Australia, but will not be allowed to guide his charges from the dug-out or the players’ area.
De Kruif was also slapped with a heavy fine of Swiss Franc 7000, equaling Tk 554869, which the coach will have to pay from his pocket.
