DHAKA: The
Bangladeshi hosts of cricket’s World Twenty20 threatened to ban local
supporters on Tuesday from stadiums if they were seen carrying the flags
of any of the other teams competing in the tournament.
The order came after an outcry over images of locals waving Pakistani flags during the recently-concluded Asia Cup, also held in Bangladesh.A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman said the board had issued a directive after it “noticed that some local fans were flying foreign flags flouting the country’s flag rules.
“We’ve received instructions in this regard,” the spokesman told AFP, without clarifying. “As such we’ve ordered security officials and guards to make sure Bangladesh fans cannot carry or fly flags of foreign nations in the stadiums.” The BCB order came on the eve of Bangladesh’s 44th Independence Day celebrations.
This was not the first time that Bangladeshi fans were seen supporting the Pakistan cricket team. A considerable number of Bangladeshi fans support Pakistani cricketers and they very often cheer the success of the Pakistani cricket team and the good performance of the cricketers.
The ban on Bangladeshi fans supporting the Pakistani team came reportedly after pressure by some elements in the government as their politics mainly focus on anti-Pakistan rhetoric.On the other hand, there are also voices in the Bangladeshi corridors of power which have objected to the ban and are using their influence to reverse the same.
According to the latest reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has also taken notice of the ban on Bangladeshi fans supporting other countries and sought an explanation from the Bangladeshi cricket bosses.
The order came after an outcry over images of locals waving Pakistani flags during the recently-concluded Asia Cup, also held in Bangladesh.A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman said the board had issued a directive after it “noticed that some local fans were flying foreign flags flouting the country’s flag rules.
“We’ve received instructions in this regard,” the spokesman told AFP, without clarifying. “As such we’ve ordered security officials and guards to make sure Bangladesh fans cannot carry or fly flags of foreign nations in the stadiums.” The BCB order came on the eve of Bangladesh’s 44th Independence Day celebrations.
This was not the first time that Bangladeshi fans were seen supporting the Pakistan cricket team. A considerable number of Bangladeshi fans support Pakistani cricketers and they very often cheer the success of the Pakistani cricket team and the good performance of the cricketers.
The ban on Bangladeshi fans supporting the Pakistani team came reportedly after pressure by some elements in the government as their politics mainly focus on anti-Pakistan rhetoric.On the other hand, there are also voices in the Bangladeshi corridors of power which have objected to the ban and are using their influence to reverse the same.
According to the latest reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has also taken notice of the ban on Bangladeshi fans supporting other countries and sought an explanation from the Bangladeshi cricket bosses.
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