MHL turning into circus

10/09/2003

THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) is fast turning into a circus, as matches
are being cancelled faster than one can say MHL.
Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) were supposed to play Johor Baru Municipal
Council yesterday at the JBMC Stadium, but the match was abandoned when
the water pump failed to function.
BSN, who arrived in Johor Baru a day earlier for training purposes, are
left with no avenue for compensation as the MHL Guide Book has no
provisions to penalise teams which fail to meet their responsibilities as
hosts.
"We arrived on Sunday and went for training but found out that the water
pump was not functioning. The stadium officials then used the fire brigade
hose to water the pitch and we were able to train. But today (yesterday)
JBMC used their lorries (with water pumps) to water the pitch but they
could not reach the centre of the pitch due to low water pressure.
"The umpires and technical officials decided to abandon the match," said
BSN team manager Nor Azmi Ismail.
Nor Azmi is now pondering on who will compensate them for travel,
accommodation and other expenses.
The Guide Book, has only this to say under responsibilities of home
team: Must ensure proper watering of the field of play before the match
and during half time.
Last Friday, the match between Pahang Sports Council and Royal Malaysian
Customs was called off because the pitch at the Kuantan Stadium was deemed
unsafe to play (see accompanying story).
Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF) secretary S. Satgunam was lost for
words, as he was returning after inspecting the pitch in Kuantan when he
received the news: "This is getting out of hand. The responsibilities of
the home team is cleary stated in the Guide Book and they must ensure that
everything is in place before the match starts.
"We will discuss this matter during the technical committee meeting
tomorrow (today)."
(END)