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| May 7, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1427 |
FIH rejects Saqlain’s appeal against ban
KARACHI, May 6: The International Olympic Committee's arbitration court has upheld a three-match ban on Pakistan's field hockey captain for rash on field behavior, officials said on Saturday.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland also fined captain Mohammad Saqlain, US$ 3,000 for hitting Australian player Craig Victory in a tournament match in Germany in August last year.
“The CAS has rejected Saqlain's appeal and the decision was announced on Saturday,” an official of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said on Saturday.
Saqlain, 30, will miss Pakistan's first three matches in the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Champions Trophy in Spain in July this year, he said.
He however will be eligible to play the eight-nation Azlan Shah Trophy in Kuala Lumpur next month as the event does not fall in FIH jurisdiction.
The temperamental mid-fielder has a history of violent behaviour.
He was also banned for one match for hitting South Korean player Soon Hoon-yoon in the face during a tournament in Malaysia in May last year.
Saqlain was left out of the Pakistan team on the eve of the 2000 Sydney Olympics for alleged misconduct.
He was also expelled from the team by former Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans a week before its departure for Athens Olympics in 2004 after he hit team-mate Adnan Maqsood during training.
Pakistan, a three-time Olympic and four time World champion, has suffered a slump in the hockey standings in recent years and have lost all their titles including the Asia champion tag in the last decade.
A Pakistani forward, Tariq Aziz, was sent off twice in Commomwealth Games in Australia in March this year for indiscipline and rough play.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation banned Tariq Aziz from all national and international hockey for six months.—AFP
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