The Hindu: FIH faces a litmus test

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FIH faces a litmus test
S. Thyagarajan

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) faces a litmus test. Six Pakistan players have defied the threat of a ban to take part in the unsanctioned World Series Hockey (WSH). They are no pushovers. Shakeel Abbasi, Waseem Ahmed and Rehan Butt are celebrities.

Their defiance rings the alarm for the FIH. It will be interesting to follow how it reacts. Any decision to disqualify them from the Olympics — Pakistan earned its berth to London as the winner of the Asian Games at Guangzhou — is sure to provoke a protest, even legal in the CAS.

It will also be an embarrassment. For, the President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, Qasim Zia, is a member of the FIH Executive Board. Assuming that the FIH sticks to the eligibility code and keeps the Pakistani players out of FIH competitions, the impact will be terrible.

It will compel Pakistan to field a weak team. There may even be calls for withdrawing from the Olympics.

The FIH should be more concerned about similar developments elsewhere. Brent Livermore, the former Aussie star, indicated at the launch of the logo for Chennai Cheetahs recently, that a handful of his colleagues are showing interest in signing up after the Olympics. He added this line of thinking prevails among players in Europe also.

If the FIH shows no leniency to the Pakistan players then there is logic in the caution given to the Indian stars by Hockey India to stay away from trouble.

But, if for any reason, the FIH is diffident in taking action the HI will be held guilty of preventing players from making a fortune.

Officials in the inner councils must be wondering why the FIH got entangled in this mess. From the start the stand taken has been ambivalent.

At one point, it looked as though the FIH would look the other way. There was no suggestion of a ban, or any penalty. It perhaps avoided a legal hassle, an avenue which Neo Sports threatened to use.

Belligerent FIH

But, progressively, the FIH turned belligerent. It spoke of sanctions and issued strictures against the administration in India by two separate wings. Burgeoning rhetoric clouded the issue.

The postponement of WSH till the end of the Olympic qualifiers indicated that no hurdles would be placed thereafter. But within hours after the final whistle in the qualifiers the FIH and the HI began singing a new tune, “free to play anywhere but…”

What is the choice left now for the FIH? It will have to wait and watch Pakistan’s response.

Then it has to conceive a strategy to contain further migration into the WSH net. The FIH cannot ignore the financial lure of the WSH.

A face-saving solution lies in refraining from talking of sanctions, statutes, etc. At best, the FIH can demand a guarantee fee with the assurance that WSH will never interfere with FIH tournaments.