Harpal Singh Bedi / Bhubaneswar
A major faux pas occurred at the fag end of the Korea-Japan match in the World Cup here this evening which left the umpires and whole of technical staff red faced.
As Japan were desperately trying for an equaliser they were awarded a penalty corner which led to two more Penalty corners. As the Japanese crowded the Korean circle they had 12 players in action on the field. Surprisingly no umpire or the technical bench noticed it.
But a former top official of the Hockey India found out this anomaly and tweeted the photo of 12 players standing around the circle. The FIH was in tizzy so were its technical staff
Later FIH issued a statement in this regard.
Following is the FIH Statement
12 Japanese players on the pitch during KOR-JPN match: In the last moments of today’s FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup match between Japan and Korea, the Japanese team had 12 players on the field of play, instead of a maximum of 11 as stipulated in the FIH Rules of Hockey.
After the match, the FIH Officials – who have not spotted this situation on the moment – have spoken to the Japanese team who have explained that they hadn’t realised this at all and expressed their most sincere apologies.
The FIH Officials have also explained the matter to the Korean team. FIH is currently investigating the issue to establish how it happened. The final result of the match (KOK-JPN 2-1) remains of course unaffected.