Paris : Indian Men’s Hockey team defender Amit Rohidas who received a red card in Quarter Final match against Great Britain is doubtful for Semi Final against Germany as he might receive 1 match suspension depending on intensity of the foul.
In the Quarter final match between India and Great Britain, India defeated Great Britain in Penalty Shootout and marched into the semi final , are set to face Germany.
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In this match’s 2nd quarter, a bizzare incident took place. Rohidas was dribbling in the midfield when his stick hit a rival player and he was shown a red card by the on-field umpire.
In Hockey, if a player is shown a red card, his/her suspension in next match depends on the intensity of the foul and official review processes.
The umpire will submit a report to the technical delegate, who will then examine the footage to assess whether the foul was committed intentionally or not.
If the official feels foul is “intentional”, Rohidas will be suspended from the next crucial semi final match against Germany & will be a huge blow for Indian defense.
Expert opinions
According to renowned Sports Journalist Boria Majumdar, “Tournament Director’s decision during hearing this evening was to ban / suspend Amit for one match. Hockey India has now appealed against this ruling. The decision now will be made by appeal jury”.
“The decision would depend on the severity of the incident,” said an official, as quoted by PTI.
“The umpire should have kept in mind that Amit Rohidas did not hit intentionally. I think he received a red card only for this match and he will be able to play in the next match. My best wishes to the team as the next match is very important for us,” said Hockey India president and three-time Olympian Dilip Kumar Tirkey.
Indian coach Craig Fulton also showed full support to the Indian defended saying, “I need to look at it, speak to him. But obviously, if someone gets hit to the head, something’s wrong. But I will stand up for Amit. He’s not that kind of player.
You’ve always got to look where there’s smoke, there’s fire. So, what happened first, for that to happen and we’ll just look to that. Not the other way,” Fulton said after India beat Great Britain 4-2 in shoot-out after both the sides were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation 60 minutes”.
The official decision however awaits.
