Hockey World Cup 2018: Harendra Singh earns FIH reprimand after questioning umpiring calls in defeat against Netherlands

Bhubaneswar: India coach Harendra Singh’s comments against the umpiring have earned him an official reprimand from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4939481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of India Coach Harendra Singh. AFP[/caption] The action will be recorded by FIH and can be taken into account if Harendra breaches the Code of Conduct again at a future event, a Hockey India release said. “The FIH Technical Delegate today decided that India’s coach Harendra Singh committed a breach of the Code of Conduct (Level 1, 2.2 k: Public criticism of, or inappropriate public comment in relation to an incident occurring in an International Match or any Participant or team participating in any International Match or FIH, generally, irrespective of when such criticism or inappropriate comment is made) at the press conference following the match India v. Netherlands on 13 December. As a result of this breach, Harendra Singh received an official reprimand. “In his decision, the FIH Technical Delegate indicates that the statements from India’s coach at the press conference regarding the umpires were – as admitted by Harendra Singh himself during today’s hearing – unacceptable,” the release said. Harendra had blamed certain umpiring calls for India’s 2-1 loss to The Netherlands in their quarter-final on 13 December, and the comments had not gone down well with the FIH. FIH CEO Thierry Weil had made it clear on Saturday that there will be no review of the umpire’s decisions and insisted the teams must respect fairplay. “To blame umpires is not the hockey style. Umpires have a tough job, they have to make decisions within seconds. It (questioning umpires) is not acceptable. If you lose, you have to accept it and look forward. Blaming umpires is not the right thing,” Weil had said. Harendra’s outburst has not gone down well with FIH President Narinder Batra either, and the former Hockey India president said on Saturday that he will speak on the matter in detail after the World Cup. “I have a very strong view on this kind of behaviour, and I will express them when I go back to Delhi. Thierry already said that they are doing a great job, and I’d say theirs is a thankless job. They will get criticised by anybody who loses. Be graceful whether you win or lose. Finding faults is very easy. You should rather appreciate and respect their efforts,” Batra said. Harendra’s contract with Hockey India ends with the World Cup.