Sakyasen Mittra
Post news Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13: Victory has different forms of celebrations. But the way Pakistan celebrated their Champions Trophy semifinal victory over India shocked the full house at the Kalinga Stadium here Saturday. Not only it drew flak from all and sundry, it even attracted the wrath of the FIH.
As the final hooter went, some of the Pakistani players opened their jerseys and started swirling those madly. A couple of players, namely Muhammad Irfan and goalkeeper Imran Butt made obscene gestures at the crowd as to how they had ‘spoiled’ India’s happiness. Some were also openly mouthing abusive language. Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh also abused the media when questioned about the incident and walked off in a huff. Yes, there were a few like Rashid Mehmood who apologised to the spectators, but overall the behaviour of the Pakistani players left a bad taste in the mouth.
Tournament director Wiert Doyer conducted an investigation into the matter and criticised the actions of the Pakistani players. “The FIH is critical of the way Pakistan players have behaved. However, since coach Shahnaz Sheikh has apologised and promised that there will not be a repeat of such an incident, the FIH will not take any disciplinary measures,” stated an FIH statement after the game.
Sardar Singh also lamented at the way the Pakistanis gestured to the crowd.
“We have never behaved badly with the crowd. What happened, shouldn’t really have happened. Victory celebrations, however, should be proper and not in a manner that antagonises the crowd and hurts sentiments of the country,” asserted Sardar.
