The Motijheel giants' general secretary Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan said that Mohammedan were reconsidering their tough stance after coming out of a meeting with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president SA Sultan and his general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday afternoon.

"They (BFF) have regretted mistakes made be referees and assured us that they would looking into the matter. They have also requested us to reconsider our decision to boycott the league for the greater interest of the game and for the image of the country," said Lokman.

Lokman informed that they would now discuss the issue with the club's executive committee, governing body, former players of the club and the supporters association before taking a final decision by Friday evening.

Although Lokman declined to give anything away regarding the possible outcome of the discussion, he hinted that they would put the welfare of the game ahead of everything.

The problem started when Mohammedan players refused to play the last six minutes of their match against Muktijoddha on January 14 protesting the referee's decision to allow the Reds' equaliser which they claimed had crossed the goalline straight off a throw-in.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Foot-ball League Committee (DMFLC) last Monday declared Muktijoddha 2-0 winners from that match and also deducted a point from Mohamme-dan's tally. The organisers of the Dhaka football also slapped a one-match ban on former national defender and Mohamme-dan captain Jewel Rana.

Mohammedan are demanding that the DMFLC revoke its decision to award Muktijoddha Sangsad full points.

A group of Mohammedan supporters raided Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday and forced the organisers to stop two Premier League matches scheduled for the day. The club's fans also attacked the Referees Association office on the same night after which the match officials declined to conduct any more games unless their security was guaranteed.

The DMFLC, in an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening, postponed all the matches of the league until January 24 in a bid to buy time to arrange proper security for the referees and also convince Mohammedan to change their minds.

Helal said that the response from Mohammedan was positive.

"We tried to make them understand that the referee's decision was final and they have to accept that and told them to come back to the field for the sake of football. We also told them straight that whatever they did and have done since the Muktijoddha game was against the spirit of the game," said the BFF general secretary.

A group of former Mohammedan footballers have urged the club to give its decision of boycotting the league a second thought.

In a meeting held at the club premises yesterday, they also asked DMFLC to revoke their punitive measures taken against the club.

Chaired by former Mohammedan captain Zakaria Pintoo, the protest gathering was also attended by Al-Haj Zahirul Haque, Maj Gen (retired) Khondker Nununnabi, Badal Roy, Abu Yusuf, Kaiser Hamid, Syed Hassan Kanan, GM Nowsher Prince and other past players.

"In a closed door conference, the ex-players unanimously agreed that the decision of not playing the final minutes of the Muktijoddha match was a major mistake made by the team management," said a source from the meeting.

Meanwhile, table toppers Brothers Union has threatened to demand compensation from DMFLC if the league remained stopped for an indefinite period.

In a press conference at the club premises yesterday afternoon, the club officials claimed that they had to spend around Taka one lak everyday to maintain the football squad.

The club also sought the Prime Minister intervention to solve the problem.