Dhaka: Authorities in western Bangladesh pleaded with football fans on Tuesday to remove tens of thousands of Brazilian and Argentinian flags from their rooftops as World Cup fever grips the normally cricket-mad nation.
Ahead of Thursday’s big kick-off in Brazil, many Bangladeshi towns and cities have been turned into seas of either yellow and green or blue and white in a reflection of the huge support for the South American giants.
But Mustafizur Rahman, government administrator of Jessore district, which is home to 2.7 million people, said the mass display of support for the two favourites was disrespectful to Bangladesh’s own flag.
“With the World Cup knocking at the door, we have become a nation of Argentina and Brazil,” he said.
“We don’t mind people wearing jerseys of their favourite teams or use billboards or banners. But it does not look good when flags of foreign nations flying on your rooftops.” (AFP)