Losing 9-2 is already a nightmare. But Bangladesh’s ordeal in Jakarta was only just beginning.
It was their heaviest defeat in three years, during the FIFA ASEAN Cup, with one detail making it even more painful: in the tournament, staying ahead of Malaysia depended on not conceding too large a goal difference. Hours after the match, an Indonesian user posted photos on X that appeared to show defender Saad Uddin and midfielder Sohel Rana Jr at a nightclub. In a post, she said she had met them at a place called H Club and that they had invited her to watch the match against Indonesia. The images went viral and were deleted shortly afterward.
Coach Amirul Islam Babu told the Daily Star that the players had been instructed to return to their rooms after dinner: “We can’t stay outside their rooms all night”. He added: “If they have done so, we have a disciplinary committee and will take action”.
One of the players denied the account and said the photos were from a gathering weeks earlier, during another trip. No original post specified the date, and that is precisely what changes everything. A bad night or bad publicity?