Pakistan hockey chief resigns day after PM orders probe into ‘horror’ tour Down Under
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Pakistan hockey chief resigns day after PM orders probe into ‘horror’ tour Down Under")
Pakistan hockey chief resigns after PM orders probe into horror tour Down Under Photograph: (X)
PHF President Tariq Bugti has resigned just one day after PM Shehbaz Sharif ordered a probe into the "humiliating" Australia tour. In a final retaliatory move, Bugti also slapped a two-year ban on captain Ammad Butt for exposing the team’s "horror" conditions.
Pakistan hockey chief Tariq Bugti resigned on Thursday (Feb 19), just one day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a probe into the team’s ‘shambolic yet embarrassing’ tour of Australia, which also saw the national team players roaming around like helpless people on the streets and washing dishes and toilets in a guest house. Bugti, who chaired the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), stepped down from his position after players revealed the street horror they lived upon landing in Lahore on Wednesday (Feb 18).
Although cricket remains the most-watched sport in Pakistan, field hockey is the country’s national sport, with the latest episode putting the players and the federation in a spot. However, Pakistan, the three-time Olympic champions and four-time World Cup winners, now linger at the 14th position in the international rankings.
Earlier, Pakistan hockey team captain Ammad Butt slammed the federation for not paying the hotel dues, resulting in the players suffering wrath as they spent hours on the streets seeking accommodation. They, however, were also forced to prepare their breakfast and wash dishes and toilets at a substandard accommodation in Hobart, Tasmania.
Ahead of the Australia tour, players boycotted a training camp over non-payment of a daily allowance of $110 -- their only income with no match fees or central contracts.
"I am tired of the tension which we have suffered in the last year," Butt told AFP. "First, I had to fight for the daily allowances and now this shabby treatment on the tour."
Butt said when the players landed in Sydney en route to Hobart for the second round of their Pro League fixtures, they had to roam the streets with no hotel to stay in.
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"When we reached Hobart, the management told us it did not have sufficient funds to pay the hotel charges, and we had to live in a guest house," Butt said. "The players had to prepare their breakfast, do the dishwashing and wash clothes. In this situation, what kind of performance could a player produce for the team?"
Pakistan have lost every one of their eight matches in the Pro League, losing 3-0 and 3-2 to Australia and 5-2 and 3-1 to Germany -- all in Hobart. They lost to Argentina and the Netherlands in the first round in December.
"I resign from my post," Bugti said in a press conference on Thursday, calling for an investigation after Butt "threatened the management on the tour".
Pakistan have not qualified for the last three Olympics and were 12th when they last played a World Cup in 2018.
Next month, Pakistan will feature in a qualifying round in Egypt to claim a place in the next World Cup, hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium in August.
(With inputs from AFP)
