Hockey World Cup 2023: 12 Japanese players on field during South Korea clash; FIH to investigate

Hockey World Cup 2023: South Korea surpassed Japan 2-1 in their Pool B game in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday. However, in a bizarre situation, the Japanese played with 12 players at a point in the contests, prompting FIH to launch an investigation.

Image credit: PTI

Twelve Japanese players were witnessed on the field at the end of their 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup game versus Asian rival South Korea at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday. It has prompted the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to probe the concern. Japan lost the Group B contest 1-2, and the FIH has attested that the outcome will stand.

"In the last moments of today's FIH Hockey Men's World Cup match between Japan and Korea, the Japanese team had 12 players on the field of play, instead of a maximum of 11 as stipulated in the FIH Rules of Hockey," the FIH announced in a statement.

"After the match, the FIH Officials who had not spotted this situation at the moment have spoken to the Japanese team, who have explained that they hadn't realised this and expressed their most sincere apologies," added FIH.

The FIH officials have also defined the affair to the Korean side. "FIH is currently investigating the issue to establish how it happened," the statement concluded.