However, Nepal Army´s Tribhuwan Army Club violated the FIFA rule and pulled two of their players from the camp of the national team on Sunday night, the eve of the AFC Challenge Cup group-stage match between Nepal and Turkmenistan.[break]
"To wake up this morning and find two players were not there...they were kidnapped in the middle of the night. Disgusting," said Graham Roberts, head coach of the Nepal team.
"Raju Tamang and Bikash Malla were taken away by army personnel. If we didn´t release them soon, they would be court-marshaled. I thought we lived in the 21st century, not in the 16th," added the disgusted head coach.
"I´m very upset but that´s life in Nepal," said Roberts.
Bikash Malla
"They are in the army. This is their life. In any other country football is football but here they are army. Army is very powerful here," he added.
The army had pulled Tamang and Malla to play in the South Asian Army Sports Meet, which started in Kathmandu Friday. Nepal Army had a crucial match against the Sri Lankan Army on Monday.
According to an ANFA source, the two players were taken away on Sunday night but the army sent an official letter only Monday morning.
"We had a crucial match in the Sports Meet. We had been missing the two players; they were our first-choice players. Meanwhile, Nepal was already out of the AFC Challenge Cup and today (Monday) there was only a consolation match for the national team. In this scenario, we pulled two of our players for the army team," said NA Spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri.
"We would not have called them back if we were playing a local tournament but the Sports Meet is equally important [as the AFC Cup] and also an issue of national pride," claimed Chhetri.
Chhetri claimed that the army officially informed ANFA about calling back its players. "We had informed an ANFA official verbally last night (Sunday) but could not hand over the letter then because of time constraints. We sent the official letter this morning (Monday)," he said.
Raju Tamang
"Two important tournaments coincided. Hopefully, such a scenario will not repeat in future," he added.
ANFA President Ganesh Thapa termed the incident disappointing. "ANFA has always praised the Nepal Army for its contribution in sports but last night´s incident astonished me," he said.
"A prestigious institution like Tribhuwan Army Club has set a wrong trend. How can we form a national team if every club pulls out players for similar reasons?" asked Thapa.
He vowed to look for a permanent solution to tackle similar situations in future.
"Why did they have to take the players at midnight? Why didn´t they consult ANFA before pulling them out? Who else are behind this incident? We´ll investigate all these things and find a solution for the future," said Thapa.
Though the army recalled Tamang and Malla, another Army Club player, Tanka Basnet, was not recalled from national duty.
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