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A shocking incident has occurred at the Bangladesh Under-20 national football team camp, as head coach Gerard Jones and his assistant Atiqur Rahman Mishu were involved in a physical altercation.
A heated situation developed between the two at the team hotel in Dhaka last Wednesday. According to multiple sources close to the team, a verbal argument escalated into pushing and shoving.
To bring the situation under control, Jones called the national emergency number '999' to summon the police. Officers arrived at the hotel, preventing any further untoward incidents from taking place. Amidst this tense atmosphere, the Under-20 team still played a friendly match against Fortis FC the following day.
The Bangladesh youth squad is scheduled to travel to Uzbekistan on 27 August to take part in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Following the scuffle, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Development Committee is actively looking into the matter.
Under-20 team manager and Development Committee member Samid Kashem said: "We are working on this matter. We hope to bring about a good solution very soon. Our goal is to provide maximum facilities to the footballers and bring success to the country."
This is not the first conflict involving Jones. During a training camp at the Shamsul Huda Academy in Jashore, a rift grew between him and the team's Spanish goalkeeping coach, Jose Maria Moreno. The situation reached a point where Moreno wanted to leave the camp entirely, although things later normalised.
Sources also claim that a team doctor left the Jashore camp during that time, citing personal reasons.
Following Wednesday's altercation, it is understood that Jones does not want assistant coach Mishu to be included on the upcoming Uzbekistan tour. However, no comments have been obtained from either Jones or Mishu regarding the matter.
The British head coach had already drawn public attention on 10 August after posting on social media about his salary and family problems. His demands and behaviour created an embarrassing situation for the BFF at the time.