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| December 17, 2005 | Saturday | Ziqa’ad 14, 1426 |
Mismanagement irks AFC official
KARACHI, Dec 16: Fouad Jaroudi, the match commissioner for the ongoing SAFF soccer championship, said on Friday he would submit Asian Football Confederation (AFC) a report about the mismanagement which was beyond his control.
“There are things which are not appropriate and should not be done. But what can I do as these things are beyond my control. I cannot stop the championship because of these things. But all I can do is to report all this to the AFC after the championship,” Jaroudi told Dawn.
Jaroudi conceded the game on the opening day between Pakistan and Sri Lanka kicked off 20 minutes after the scheduled time, saying it was basically because of a speech by the governor.
“There was a ceremony which was out of control. The governor came at the venue, shook hands with the players and surprised everybody, giving a speech. I can’t stop the governor from giving the speech, saying we want to start the game,” said the official.
The Lebanese, however, agreed that international matches could not be delayed because of speeches and the organizers had agreed at the meetings before the event that all the fixtures would start on time.
Jaroudi said that only Pakistan-Sri Lanka match on the opening day and the semifinal between Bangladesh and Pakistan on Wednesday were delayed because of chief guests.
Asked about the rules and regulations for the international championships, the AFC-appointed official said there were hardly any rules being followed.
“If you ask about the rules, let me tell you something about the rules. When I came to Karachi, there was nobody at the airport to receive me. I called that lady from the AFC Competition Committee,” said the official.
But when asked why media was not being provided the scoresheets signed by him (match commissioner) soon after the matches, Jaroudi said he had been sending the results to the SAFF secretariat five minutes after each match.
“I send the scoresheets of every match five minutes after the game. Two people from media who are not from Pakistan come to me after each match and collect the scoresheet and deliver it to SAFF secretariat. If they (SAFF secretariat) are not telling this, it is not true.”
Jaroudi said all the teams and officials had been staying at the same hotel which was a blatant violation of rules.
“No, that is not appropriate. Only two teams are allowed to stay at the same hotel. There are so many things which are not being done. Nothing is being done appropriately regarding the officials. Two referees are staying in one room in the hotel where I am staying. They want to save money. Some referees are paid $100 for miscellaneous expenses but some are not. The organizers, Pakistan Football Federation, are supposed to pay the referees,” he said.
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