Bangladesh women’s football team accuse Butler of mental harassment, warn of collective retirement

Senior players of the Bangladesh women's national football team have long had a strained relationship with head coach Peter Butler, an issue that first came to light during the last SAFF Championship.

Reports of conflicts between the coach and the players surfaced at that time, but tensions have now escalated to the point where the players have openly rebelled against the English coach.

They have declared that they will not play under Butler and have even threatened mass retirement if he remains in charge.

On Thursday, captain Sabina Khatun, along with 18 other players, announced their decision at a press conference at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarters.

In a written statement, they detailed their grievances against Butler, accusing him of mental harassment and other forms of mistreatment.

During the SAFF Championship, the players had already expressed their dissatisfaction with Butler. Although it seemed that tensions had eased after their title-winning campaign, recent events have shown otherwise.

When Butler called for a team meeting last Tuesday upon returning to Dhaka, none of the players attended.

The situation worsened today when the players also refused to take part in the gym session conducted by Butler. Out of the 29 players in the BFF camp, only 12 attended, while the remaining 17 later gathered at the BFF headquarters in the evening to make their stance clear to the media through a written statement.

The statement was titled "Our stance, questions, and complaints regarding women's football head coach Peter Butler." It was signed by 17 senior players, including captain Sabina Khatun, Monika Chakma, Shamsunnahar, Sanjida Akter, and Rituparna Chakma. In the statement, they collectively announced their retirement from the national team if their demands were not met.

The players raised several allegations against Butler in their statement and called upon BFF president Tabith Awal to intervene and resolve the issue. They made it clear that until a resolution is reached, they will not participate in any training camp under Butler. The statement concluded with: "We hope that the honourable president of BFF will take this matter seriously and find an immediate solution. Until then, we will not take part in any training camp under Peter Butler."

Despite the players' longstanding complaints, BFF recently extended Butler's contract for another year. In their statement, the players also addressed what their course of action would be if the federation remained firm in keeping Butler.

"Since BFF has not renewed any player's contract since last October, they are not legally entitled to take any action against us. However, if they choose to do so and insist on retaining Peter Butler, we will be forced to resign collectively. We will take it as a sign that our services are no longer needed in women's football in Bangladesh."