FICA begins legal action over BPL payments

[1983-2011]

Legal proceedings have been initiated by the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) against the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the franchises involved in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) following a widespread failure to pay players. The first edition of the BPL ended in February but, despite repeated assurances and deadlines, FICA has been informed that many players have yet to receive full payment. As a result, the players' organisation has instructed lawyers in Dhaka to file a claim against the relevant franchises and the BCB. "This is a black and white matter," Tim May, the chief executive of FICA told ESPNcricinfo. "It was stipulated by contract how much the players would be paid and the date by which they would receive payment. It was also stipulated that, if the franchises couldn't pay, then the BCB would act as guarantors and would make the payments. "We have been waiting for four months. Deadlines have come and gone and all we have had is a litany of excuses. It has come to the stage where all avenues of dialogue have dried up and the BCB have stopped responding to FICA. "If it was not such a serious matter, some of the excuses they are coming up with would be amusing. They have said there are foreign currency issues, for example, but even some of the Bangladesh players have not been paid. They keep saying the payments will be made tomorrow, or next week, or the week after, but it has never happened." May derided the behaviour of the Bangladesh board as "amateurish" and even questioned the integrity of some of those involved in the organisation of the tournament which attracted such diverse overseas players as Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Stuart MacGill and Peter Trego. Afridi, who topped the auction at $700,000, was reported last month as saying that he had been paid. "We don't know if they have the funds available to make payments," he said. "If we had a relationship based on trust we could understand their issues and agree a timeline for payments, as we did with the Sri Lanka board when they had some cash flow difficulties. But they have behaved in an amateurish manner and we have no confidence in them or their integrity." Mustafa Kamal, the BCB president, has ambitions to become a president of the ICC, but May suggested that the continued impasse could harm his candidature. "The integrity of people involved in the leadership of Bangladesh cricket is spiralling downwards uncontrollably," he said. "We have had continued assurances from Mustafa Kamal - a man touted as the next ICC president - but the continued non-payment does not reflect him in a particularly good light." The episode presents a serious threat to the second edition of the BPL, which is due to begin in January 2013. FICA will take a more uncompromising line when it comes to advice they give players about payment. "Our advice to players is not to get involved in future unless they are either paid, or they receive bank guarantees, before they board the plane," May continued. "The BPL will probably say that is unreasonable, but they have brought this on themselves. We have been trying to resolve this for months and legal action - which will take money that we could better spend on developing the game - is a last resort. "Our recommendation this year was for players not to travel until they had received 25% of their payment, but some went anyway. If you have a situation where players don't receive that upfront payment, it is a sure sign that things are likely to go pear-shaped. We have major worries about the administration of the BPL."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/story/567786.html

[Executioner]

:hmmm: no pakistani players means no fixing or ball biting and locals get a good chance in the tournament. Is this a blessing in disguise?? :hmmm:

[King Khan]

This means .. RIP BPL.. If Bangladesh judicial system is still running uncorrupted, court will place immediate halt order to organise anymore events & later definitly bann BPL Govt body and its all related correspondance like what happened with ICL. Anyway without Pakistani/Indian, any leage in there will be flop.

[1983-2011]

:hmmm: no pakistani players means no fixing or ball biting and locals get a good chance in the tournament. Is this a blessing in disguise?? :hmmm:

:giggle: Ahmed Shehzad, Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal were the 3 most run scorers, even Nasir Jamshed and Azhar Mahmood scored more runs than any Bangladeshi player. In bowling 4 pakistani players were in top 10 wicket takers list. BPL generated no interest in the cricket's biggest marketing nation India due to no indian players and without pakistanis it would be dead in terms of trp

[Tiger-Don]

This is a real shame for us Bengalis! But isnt it true that Indians will replace pakis in BPL 2?

[Stuge]

:facepalm: All the hype and no payments made .WTH

[achilles]

How come no one sued Afridi's ass after this?

[achilles]

Also, Tim May should know he must be speaking from his mouth and not his ass.

[Tiger-Don]

:yay::two_thumbs_up::omg:

[Bdeshpatriot]

Knowing Bangladesh, this is how things are done, we are experts at doing or withholding things till the last minute, one good example is the renovations work that was doubtful before the opening ceremony of world cup, but we pulled it off in the end with world class standards. i know this SUCKS big time, but rest assured, all players will be paid before bpl2. Unfortunate but thats how it is.

[Needforspeed]

If the players are not paid before BPL2, some of them may not play. That possibility would be enough to motivate the BCB to pay before BPL2.

[Needforspeed]

Insecurity vis a vis what lol' date=' I am mentioning what I saw, any one is free to look at the BANGLA CRICKET FORUM AND SEARCH FOR POST ABOUT how Murtaza , Rubel, Shahdat ARE WORLD CLASS FASST BOWLERS LOL AND UMESH, ISHANT, VARUN ARE TRUNDLERS , LOL WHAT A JOKE CAN ANY ONE WHO IS SANE AGREE TO THAT, CAN YOU.Truth can be bitter, Ashraful is not the next Richards , Shakib Sobers and Shahdat the next Steyn lol:hysterical:[/quote'] MCcricket bro, just cool it. We are going too much off-topic I think. Eventually the quality of the bowlers will show up in their performance.

[Needforspeed]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh/content/current/story/567912.html

According to a BCB press release, out of the $2.77m net payable, the unpaid fees figure currently stands at around $305,000.

Kamal said that neither the players nor their agents had lodged an official complaint to the BCB. "The most unfortunate thing is that not a single player has sent us a written complaint, we don't have a particular case in our hands. Every comment is made in general, not made about a particular player," he said. "We have even talked to the players' agents, but once again the name of any particular player who hasn't been paid didn't come up. Nobody has written to us. Anyone can contact us, even Tim May, about an unpaid player." But ESPNcricinfo has learned that FICA emailed the BCB twice last month regarding the non-payments and that at least one individual agent has shown that he has communicated with Game On Sports, BPL's event management firm, which was copied in the mail to BCB regarding unpaid wages. Kamal said that since the BPL was a hurriedly organised event, there were some mistakes in their work. "From the beginning we have said that it has been organised in a very short time," he said. "Mistakes are bound to happen but we are working on correcting them ahead of the next tournament.

[achilles]

Hmm. One of the parties is blowing this issue out of proportion.

[ganeshran]

Please stick to the topic. If you have a problem with opinions expressed on another forum, you are welcome to go and discuss it there itself rather than bringing it on ICF.

[Executioner]

Hmm. One of the parties is blowing this issue out of proportion.

Have to agree, 89% of the payments were made and FICA is acting like the players havent received payment yet. I blame BCB also big time for this mess but all this happen because the tournament was planned poorly mainly due to lack of time. next year hopefully things will be sorted, home and away matches, proper ticket prices, and also maybe an extra team. Well, damn the BCB, we need some1 who thinks big like Lalit Modi. It was his vision that made such a thing like IPL possible, I dont think guys like rajiv shukla could ever come up with such an idea. Lalit modi was a smart, yet corrupt man. He knew the traditions of the trade and the way he mixed everything to give a dish too good to resist :hatsoff:

[Needforspeed]

Somehow one gets the feeling that BCB has ruffled some egos at the FICA. In any case the franchises have to make payment and BCB has only guaranteed it. When so many payments are to be settled some delay is inevitable. And being a new tournament, some teething problems will be there.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Have to agree' date=' 89% of the payments were made and FICA is acting like the players havent received payment yet.[/quote'] 89% after months of waiting? The spin in this one is strong.

[Executioner]

Somehow one gets the feeling that BCB has ruffled some egos at the FICA. In any case the franchises have to make payment and BCB has only guaranteed it. When so many payments are to be settled some delay is inevitable. And being a new tournament, some teething problems will be there.

agree with your opinion, at least you are not like those Pakis think that everything will go right from the first go. We are still a small country and our cricket is still not at the level of countries like Aus, Ind and England. And considering how corrupt things are in BD these are meant to be happen. It will take time to sort some problems. There were a lot of issues with BPL regarding qualification and ticket price as well. Too many hiccups :(( But the only thing that drives cricket in our nation is the passion for the game:hatsoff::hatsoff: Same can be said abt India, i mean to think abt how the fans wud still back the team after 8-0 whitewash, wherease teams like WI had performed so much betteer :hatsoff::hatsoff:

[Zap_Brannigan]

Same can be said abt India' date=' i mean to think abt how the fans wud still back the team after 8-0 whitewash, wherease teams like WI had performed so much betteer :hatsoff::hatsoff:[/quote'] I am sure winning the WC and being #1 just before the last 2 series had something to do with it