Incompetent officials who somehow manage to sit at the decision making positions, kill hockey here in the ongoing World Cup.

As if the umpiring hassles are not enough, others involved in the technical conduct seek to hide their face rather than coming ahead and explain. One of the cases in point is the Tournament Director Ellis here. Despite requests sent to her through proper channel, she refused to come and offer some clarifications needed for the media. When a couple of enterprising journalists went to her room and asked about it, all she could managed to convey was here FIRM unwillingness to attend press meet.

Is there any guidelines that prevent you from coming to press briefing? She gives back a big grin, but no solid answer. If guidelines — if at all any which seemed to have framed for conveninence and kept under lock and key all the time to protect such people — prevent here from doing so that should have been circulated and available to everyone here at least this aspect has come into discussion. We were told the TD would not attend press breif, but release a note instead. That also did not come even two hours after the match and till the last shuttle left the stadium premises.

In a day where goals have been allowed only to be disallowed, reasons for chaning the decisions are neither provided to the team nor to the interested press. When India´s goal, the first in the match against England, was disallowed under incomprehensible circumstances during the half time, a decision which stunned the whole stadium, what all required for the jounalists was the official version.

If the Tournament Director cannot offer this, then who else is? Then why castigate press if something is written wrong?
>p>
The Indian team mangement, it is learnt, wanted to lodge an official protest against their goal disallowed in their absence –during half time – but was denied on the count that you can´t lodge a protest against umpiring.

Great!!!!. I asked the so-called Tournamanent Director, if protests cannot be lodged against the umpiring decisions, then what are the other areas one can lodge official complaints dealing of which is one of her prime duties. Again you get a big grin, bigger than the previous one, but no firm answer. I think if bus comes late or a fan claps hands, you can lodge a complaint!!!!!!! And the complaint money is so big, the FIH coffers will budge.

whe the same TD takes pains to justify the umpiring decisin in one to one situation, but she is scared of media breif then? TD is a public office or a kitchen posting?

It is ridiculous the way World cup hockey is technically conducted here. At least six goals have been given and discarded — world cup is not even halfway through. The the pattern seems to affect select countries. It seems incompetent officials support the incompetent umpires, whose credit to be here seems to be in the good books of country´s management or the FIH rather than on merit.

Very interestingly a couple of people, whom one always see in every FIH tournaments, very conviniently disapper the moment they spot some trouble. Even though everybody knows they masqurade as media co-ordinators or officers, whatever they call themselves, these freeloaders never seemed to have writing single para on hockey on any newspapers than the ones that are published at the cost of FIH.

Everyone collectively contribute to murdering of hockey in Madrid.