FIH suspends 2 Pakistani hockey players for indecent behaviour

December 14, 2014

Bhubaneswar, Dec 14: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today suspended two Pakistani players Amjad Ali and Mohammad Tousiq from playing in the Champions Trophy final after they were found guilty of making obscene gestures towards spectators following their semi-final win against India.

pakHockey India's imminent threat of boycotting all FIH events scheduled to be held in India during the next few calender years made the world hockey's governing body reverse their earlier decision of just letting the players with official reprimand.

According to the release issued by FIH, a third Pakistani player Shafaqt Rasool, got away with official reprimand. All the three players have accepted their guilt.

Amjad and Tousiq were guilty of making obscene gestures with their middle fingers towards a packed gallery, an action that has been photographed and is now documented.

"After the conclusion of the semi-final match between India and Pakistan, Amjad Ali was seen making obscene body gestures that are considered to be obscene, the evidence of which surfaced after the initial statement was issued on 14 December at midnight," the FIH said in a statement.

"Amjad Ali accepts the breach of the code of conduct. The attitude of the team member at the hearing was good, with Pakistan tendering a written apology to the community of hockey. The seriousness of the offence falls within Level 1 of FIH rules and regulations and according to the Code of Conduct of Level 1 offence one match suspension is imposed on Ali Amjad.

"He is suspended for the next match that Pakistan will play in the relevant tournament," the statement further read.

The FIH further said that Tousiq committed the same offence and has been handed out the same punishment as Ali.

"Tousiq was seen making gestures that are considered to be obscene (raising the middle finger to spectators on the stands) whose evidence surfaced after the initial statement was issued on 14 December at midnight," it stated.

Even Tousiq accepted that he breached the code of conduct. "Muhammad Tousiq accepts the breach of the code of conduct. According to the Code of Conduct Level-1, Muhammad Tousiq is suspended for the next match that Pakistan will play in the relevant tournament," the FIH said.

Incidentally, Rasool got away with just a reprimand for committing the same offence as Tousiq, but what against the latter were the two yellow cards which he received so far in the tournament.

"After the conclusion of the semi-final match between India and Pakistan, Rasool was seen making gestures that are considered to be obscene (raising the middle finger to spectators on the stands). Shafqat Rasool accepts the breach of the code of conduct. So, according to the Code of Conduct Level, and within the level High Decision has been given an official reprimand," the world body said.

The punishments came after Hockey India today took a strong objection to FIH's "feeble" action towards Pakistani players indecent behaviour and decided not to host any FIH events in India until and unless the world body hands out a strong punishment to the offenders of this shameless incident.

Soon after their 4-3 win over India, Pakistani players went into a frenzy mode and started celebrating their victory in a wild fashion. They started dancing in jubilation.

They removed their shirts, used foul language and made obscene gestures towards the crowd and media, prompting their coach Shahnaz Sheikh to come into action and take away his players.

Tournament Director Wiert Doyer, who was asked to carry out an inquiry into the matter, then spoke to Pakistani camp and said later the FIH is satisfied with their apology and so "no action was unwarranted".

Meanwhile, Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh today condemned the "shameless" behavior of his players and said his wards' conduct were "unacceptable" to the entire hockey community.

"The incident that occurred after the match between India and Pakistan contained behavior that is considered unacceptable to Pakistan Hockey Federation and the entire hockey community. As a result, I have spoken to my team and explained to them that they are guests in India and as hosts they (India) have been very hospitable to the team.

"Our opinion is that the behavior of a few of our players should not have occurred," Sheikh said in a statement, which was handed out to the media by FIH Compitions Committee member Kenneth Reid.

"In addition, I have written to the Tournament Director Mr Wiert Doyer and sincerely apologized for the behavior of a few players in my team," he said. Sheikh also said that PHF too condemns such a behavior of the players.

"I have also spoken with the President and Secretary General of Pakistan Hockey Federation who both agree that the behavior was not acceptable and they would also submit their regrets to Hockey India and the Indian public," he said.

"I hope that in the true spirit of the game everyone will accept our sincere apologies that is given without any reservations," the coach concluded.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 22,2020

Sydney, Feb 22: India's demolition of a formidable Australia in the Women's T20 World Cup opener will give them a huge boost going forward, said star batswoman Mithali Raj, who also lauded leggie Poonam Yadav for her magical performance.

Poonam took four for 19 to help India complete a 17-run victory against defending champions Australia on Friday.

"Everyone has been talking about how much batting depth Australia have, yet they couldn't chase 132," Raj, a former India Test and ODI captain, said in an ICC release.

"India will take so much confidence from that victory, but this World Cup is still very open. The match between Australia and India proved how competitive the tournament will be. It proves it does not matter where you stand in the ICC rankings.

"We will be seeing more of the same drama yet. This victory proves every team has a chance," said Raj, who has retired from T20 cricket.

The 37-year-old veteran batswoman said "the opening match definitely lived up to the hype of the tournament".

"It was a whirlwind. There were so many ups and downs. It was a great start to the tournament not only because India beat the defending champions on home soil, but also because of how the game progressed altogether.

"At no point could you say it was going in one side's favour. First we saw our early wickets fall, then we recovered and Australia had to chase 132 before their middle-order collapsed. India and Australia both took the game their own way at different points which made it fascinating for spectators to watch."

Raj said Poonam's spell was the turning point.

"She's been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now, and her style worked again. Getting their (Australia's) middle-order out really titled the match towards India, she was brilliant.

"Although we recovered our innings through Deepti Sharma and her partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, it was Poonam's flurry of wickets against Australia's megastars, which completely changed the game," Raj said.

Raj also praised 16-year-old Shafali Verma for scoring 29 off 15 on her World Cup debut.

"Shafali Verma impressed me too on her debut. She gave India's middle order the cushioning they needed to regain momentum. Verma has stuck with stroke play that she demonstrated in the tri-series," she said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.