Bangladesh football team coach Jamie Day and a few of his players disembarked from the team bus and took Ubers home on Thursday after learning that their driver was not carrying a licence, said a team official preferring not to be named.

Posts about the incident went viral on social media and numerous posts popped up throughout yesterday and, when contacted last night, Bangladesh Football Federation General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag confirmed the matter.

The football team had flown to Dhaka from Nilphamari, where they had lost a FIFA friendly 1-0 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Shortly after leaving the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the bus, which was hired by the transport department of the BFF, was stopped by traffic police for a routine document inspection.

During the course of the checks, it was learned that the driver of the 32-seater bus belonging to Tuba Line was not carrying his driving licence.

A BFF official who was accompanying the coach and players explained that the driver's licence had been confiscated over a previous case and he produced a photocopy of the receipt.

The driver added that he had submitted the original copy to the authorities so that he would be allowed to collect his licence.

The coach's curiosity was piqued by the commotion and after he had learnt what had happened, Day and a few players left the bus and called Ubers to take them to the FARS Hotel in Paltan.

According to Shohag, the policemen had actually allowed the team to go on their way following that routine check. He added that the coach and players only decided to take Ubers because they anticipated that they might be pulled over again on their way.

The issue of bus drivers plying the roads without licences has come to the fore in recent weeks after two students were killed by a reckless driver, sparking protests across the country.