Bangladesh manager Thomas Dooley has dismissed rumours of dispute with Fulham‘s Farhaan Ali Wahid or with his family.
Dooley was born in England but has decided to represent the Tigers of Bengal because of his Bangladeshi heritage.
The winger had a spell with Chelsea’s academy and left them to be part of Fulham’s youth system in 2019.
Ali Wahid has represented Fulham U18 and Fulham U21s, while he is yet to make his first team debut. He managed 12 goals and six assists from 41 matches for the U18s and 13 goals and nine assists for the U21s.
In August, Álvaro Arbeloa’s side allowed him to join National League side Boreham Wood FC on a season-long loan deal. He has scored two goals and contributed two assists from six matches so far this season.
First call-up for Fulham man
The 19-year-old received his first call-up from Thomas Dooley for this international break and made his senior debut in the 3-0 defeat to Malaysia last week.
Farhaan Ali Wahid started in his preferred position on the left wing and Shahriar Emon replaced him after the break.
The Fulham owned player was an unused substitute in the national team’s 1-0 defeat to Singapore on Monday. There were rumours of the youngster having a disagreement with the manager, who reportedly had an argument with his father.
That’s according to T-Sports in Bangladesh, who point out rumours of the player wanting to leave the national team camp.
Fulham attacker’s form reason for omission
The outlet also spoke to the manager on Tuesday morning to get his views about these rumours. Thomas Dooley has responded to lies spread across social media and says there is no dispute with Farhaan Ali Wahid or his family.
“There is no dispute between Farhan Ali and me. At least not from my side. I don’t have a problem with his father either. I didn’t have any arguments or debate with his father. The stories being spread beyond this are completely false,” he said.
“When a coach benches or replaces a player, there is always a reason behind it. Perhaps the player needed a rest due to a run of games, perhaps he has an injury, perhaps the decision was tactical, or perhaps it was down to his performance. There can be many reasons behind it.”
“Within the team and the federation, I am always open about my decisions. I am an open book; I have nothing to hide. And the only reason Farhan was taken off [against Malaysia] at half-time was performance.”
Bangladesh appointed the German as their manager in May, and he has managed three matches so far.
“Ever since I came to Bangladesh, it seems like new rumours are spreading almost every day. When people are unhappy about something or simply want to create a stir, they post something on social media, and most of the time, there’s no truth to it.” Dooley explained.
Bangladesh have been eliminated from FIFA Asean Cup after losing two matches. They face Indonesia on October 1st, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Ali Wahid can get minutes.
