PAKISTAN VICE- CAPTAIN LET- OFF WITH REPRIMAND, TO PLAY AGAINST HOLLAND

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 8: In a major relief for Pakistan, the International Hockey Federation ( FIH) has let- off vice- captain Ammad Butt with a reprimand for carelessly running into a Malaysian player during their last match, which means the striker is eligible to play in their crucial last Pool D match against the Netherlands on Sunday.

Pakistan’s campaign at the ongoing men’s hockey World Cup went from bad to worse after the team suffered a twin blow on Thursday.

While skipper Muhammad Rizwan Sr was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with an injury, his deputy Butt was banned for their last Pool D match against the Netherlands because of a serious onfield offence against Malaysia’s Faizal Saari.

The suspension was, however, revoked after Pakistan appealed against it with the FIH stating that Butt’s offence was not “reckless” but a “careless” one.

The invoked suspension on Butt was after Malaysia coach Roelant Oltmans lodged an official complaint with the tournament’s technical delegate Christian Deckenbrock of Germany.

While lifting the suspension, the FIH, however, warned that if Butt receives a yellow card in future matches of the tournament, the suspension can be invoked by the technical delegate.

“Following an incident in the 40th minute of the game between MalaysiaPakistan on December 5 Pakistan player Ammad Butt had been suspended for one match by the FIH Technical Delegate. The Pakistan team had appealed against this decision,” a statement from the FIH read.

“The FIH Appeal Jury found the appellant, Ammad Butt, breached the Code of Conduct carelessly, but not recklessly, running into the Malaysian players. The Jury acceptedthe additional evidence that the appellant did subsequently show concern for the Malaysian player’s welfare,” the statement read.