KARACHI, 31 March 2006 — Pakistani hockey officials would decide on the fate of temperamental forward Tariq Aziz, Pakistan’s villain in a 3-0 defeat in the Commonwealth Games final against Australia in Melbourne recently.
A top Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) official told Arab News on Tuesday that the youngster who was sent to the sin bin for his off-the-ball, lip-splitting hit on an Australian player during the final would not go unpunished.
The ugly incident was turning point of the match, as the Australians pumped in two unanswered goals against a 10-man Pakistan to claim their third Commonwealth Games hockey title in a row.
“We have taken serious notice of the incident but would take any action on it only after consultation with the team management,” said PHF secretary Brigadier (retd.) Musarrat Ullah Khan. Musarrat did not rule out the possibility of harsh action against Tariq Aziz, a former national junior team captain who has a history of on field outbursts. He was also suspended for two matches earlier in the Commonwealth Games for hitting South African defender Charles Rose-Innes off the ball in a bruising draw.
In the final, when Pakistan were up against an uphill task of beating world No. 1 Australia in their own backyard, Tariq committed a grave mistake. He hit Australian midfielder Robert Hammond and was sent off with a red card, reducing Pakistan to 10 men for the last 26 minutes of the final. The hit forced Hammond to leave the field and later the right corner of his top lip had to be stitched.
The incident has only added to the bad blood between the two teams. Last summer, Pakistan skipper Muhammad Saqlain came under the microscope when he smashed the jaw of Australian striker Craig Victory in Hamburg during a four-nation event.
Saqlain was suspended for three matches by the FIH but the punishment is yet to be carried out because of the player’s appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports. It is expected that the CAS would issue its verdict on the case next month. There is already an outrage over Tariq’s behavior in the Commonwealth Games final with Australian coach Barry Dancer demanding quick action against the player for his bad conduct.
