The Pakistani players scored a famous victory over India but maddened by the success they sadly decided to enter hockey's hall of infamy on Saturday.
They wrecked a well-deserved victory with their lewd, rude gestures and abuses at thousands of stunned fans at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday, as they celebrated with their shirts off.
It was one of the worst displays of boorish behaviour seen in the international arena. Pakistan's coach Shahnaz Sheikh tried his best to control the players but failed to do so, which enraged the fans sitting close to the turf.
During the press conference, Sheikh first refused to speak on the issue but finally apologized when the agitated media kept asking him to give a statement on the players' bad behaviour.
"I am sorry for what they have done. They are like children, what can I do," said the Pakistan coach.
After that he walked out of the conference room along with captain Muhammad Imran, saying he would only take questions on the match.
Champions Trophy tournament director Wiert Doyer came up with a statement which obviously was not along expected lines.
"At the conclusion of the semifinal match between India and Pakistan... the celebration of the Pakistani team contained some behaviour that warranted further investigation by me as Tournament Director. As a result I have spoken to the head coach of the Pakistan team, Mr. Shahnaz Sheikh and told him that the behaviour of Pakistan players went beyond what is acceptable to standards of the FIH... It is difficult to find any particular miscreant, and it is possible that the behaviour of the players may have been a reaction. Mr Shahnaz Sheikh has apologised and assured me that this behaviour will not occur again. Given these matters, I've decided that no further action is warranted," Doyer said in his statement.
The India captain Sardar Singh and high performance director Roelant Oltmans condemned the way the Pakistan players' behaviour after their win.
Sardar said, "They should not have celebrated in such a way. There were families inside the stadium and they shouldn't have taken off their shirts. Even after winning the match against Pakistan in the Asian Games, we didn't celebrate in this fashion."
"I didn't see too much of the Pakistan players but it was a bit too much," said Oltmans.
No comments:
Post a Comment