Paris Olympics 2024: Hockey India raise concerns about the quality of umpiring after quarterfinal win

By Sreejith CR | First Published Aug 4, 2024, 9:17 PM IST

Hockey India on Sunday officially lodged an appeal over concerns about the quality of umpiring and decision making in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian men's team won their quarter-final match against Great Britain despite playing more than 40 minutes with a man-less after Amit Rohidas was sent off for dangerous play.

After the Indian men's hockey team secured an emphatic shootout win over Great Britain to enter the semi-finals of Paris Olympics 2024, Hockey India (HI) said they have officially lodged an appeal over concerns about the quality of umpiring and decision making in the ongoing Games. India played the majority of the match with a man-less after defender Amit Rohidas was sent off for dangerous play early in the second quarter. Meanwhile, during the shootout, which India won 4-2, the British goalkeeper was being coached from behind the goalpost using a video tablet.

Rohidas received a straight red card in the 17th-minute after the video umpire deemed he had hit the British player's face with his stick intentionally. The decision looked a bit harsh and contentious, but Criag Fulton's men broke the dead lock five minutes later thanks to Harmanpreet Singh's powerful effort from a penalty corner. Lee Morton equalised for GB three minutes before the half-time.

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After the interval, the 10 men Indian team put on a solid defensive performance backed by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's heroics to force the game into shootout. In the tiebreaker, Indian's Harmanpreet, Sukhjit Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Ramkumar netted for the bronze medalist from Tokyo Olympics three years ago, while Britain's Wiliamson Conor and Roper Phil were denied by Sreejesh.

In a letter to media, Hockey India said that it had “officially raised concerns about the quality of umpiring and decision-making in the ongoing Paris Olympic Games 2024”. The Three key issues highlighted in the appeal were, "inconsistent video umpire reviews, particularly regarding the red card decision for an Indian player, which has eroded trust in the video review system; the coaching of a goalkeeper from behind the goalpost during the shoot-out, and the use of a video tablet by a goalkeeper during the shoot-out.”

“These incidents have undermined confidence in the officiating process among players, coaches, and fans. Hockey India calls for a thorough review of these matters to uphold the integrity of the sport and ensure fair play in future matches,” the HI statement said. The hearing of the appeal is expected later on Sunday, and will decide if Rohidas will feature in the semi-final against Argentina or Germany on Tuesday.

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