Match fee row rocks Kabaddi Federation

A dispute over match fees has rocked the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation, with several referees alleging they were underpaid for officiating at last December’s Tarunner Utsab National Kabaddi Tournament.

Referees and linesmen have expressed frustration over what they describe as discrepancies between the number of matches they handled and the honorarium they eventually received.

Referee Parul Akter criticised the payments, saying: “In the current time, the minimum match fee should be at least Tk500. How can a national federation pay less than that? Based on the number of matches I officiated, I was supposed to receive much more. But I was paid far less. I have already spoken to the federation officials about this issue.”

Another referee, Shompa, raised similar concerns. “I officiated around 18 matches. Even at Tk500 per match, that comes to Tk9,000 . But I received only Tk4,050. I called referees committee chairman Abdul Haque sir. He said he would look into the matter and inform me later. It’s not just me, many referees have been deprived like this.”

Male referees have also reported irregularities.

Referee Zakir Hossain said: “We did not receive the honorarium as expected. There is growing dissatisfaction among referees. We will soon submit a formal protest to the federation.”

He added: “What has happened must be addressed. We want proper distribution of funds so that no one is deprived.”

Responding to the allegations, referees committee chairman Abdul Haque said the federation’s treasurer, Monir Hossain, who also served as the committee’s general secretary, had been overseeing payments before his sudden death.

“To my knowledge, no one was underpaid. Still, I will thoroughly investigate the matter,” he stated.