Tabith Awal completes Sade-Sohel investigation, ruling due before SAFF 

 
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal has completed his investigation into national team footballers Sade Uddin and Sohel Rana junior over their alleged involvement in a nightclub controversy, with a ruling expected before Bangladesh's opening match of the SAFF Championship 2026.

The development comes just days before the national team's SAFF camp is due to begin on 25 October, leaving the disciplinary issue hanging over preparations for the regional showpiece on home soil.

Speaking from Japan, Tabith said media, "The investigation is over. I will meet them and give a ruling before the first match of the SAFF."

The controversy erupted after Bangladesh's humiliating 9-2 defeat to Indonesia in the FIFA ASEAN Cup on 1 October when photographs emerged on social media appearing to show Sade and Sohel at a nightclub. The timing of the posts triggered widespread criticism, although the photographs themselves have not independently established that they were taken after the Indonesia match.

Both players have acknowledged visiting a nightclub but have maintained that the photographs were taken in Nepal, before the national team camp, during their off-season after signing for Mohammedan Sporting Club. They have denied that the incident occurred in Indonesia.

The controversy has also raised questions over team discipline and management following Bangladesh's three-match losing campaign in the ASEAN Cup. The 9-2 defeat was Bangladesh's heaviest loss in a match against Indonesia and their highest-scoring defeat in decades.

With the SAFF Championship now around the corner, the BFF president's ruling could have a direct bearing on the squad as Bangladesh seek to turn the page on a troubled ASEAN Cup campaign.