THE Malaysian version of Mario Balotelli got into trouble again when he showed the middle finger to umpire P. Elangovan, and will now be suspended when Terengganu Hockey team host UniKL today in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League.
Terengganu HT's Faizal Saari, considered a wizard by some, and a trouble-maker by others, was red carded when he knocked into a Sapura player on Friday, and felt that the umpire was not being fair, and flashed the middle finger to Elangovan and uttered foul language.
This is not the first time the 23-year-old has been in troble, as he was red carded in the Razak Cup, and also dropped from the Asian Games line-up after getting into plenty of controversies before and after the World Cup.
"Faizal will receive an automatic one-match suspension and will not play against UniKL on Sunday (today). We will also refer his case to the management committee on Thursday where he might face further action, or will be let off with a one-match ban," said Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Competition Committee secretary Hashim Yusoff.
THT, second on the standings, will play university team UniKL, in Terengganu today.
Meanwhile national coach Tai Beng Hai, who is also Sapura coach, said he will select a training squad for the World League Round Two, in Singapore on Jan 17-25, in a week's time.
"The MHL ends on Dec 14, so I do not have much time for the World League. I will select a training squad, with the core coming from those who played in the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
"And if I spot any talent in the MHL, he will also receive a call-up," said Beng Hai.
On the influx of foreign players, some of whom are well below par compared to youth who have been left out of the MHL, Beng Hai said: "It was a domino effect, as after one team bought foreign players in place of fielding local youth, the others had to follow to keep pace."
Sapura with five foreign palayers, have only one win and one draw to show after playing five matches in Round One.
From the six teams in the Premier Division, only Tenaga have opted out of relaying on foreign players: "We were asked by the management to source for foreign players this season, but we chose to develop our youth from feeder school SSTMI (Sekplah Sukan Tunku Mahkota Ismail) as we believe that is the best formula to help the club as well as the country in the long run," said Tenaga Nasional skipper Madzli Ikmar.
And Tenaga's all-local cast are thirs on the standings with three wins.
SUNDAY: Tenaga v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Maybank v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II); THT v UniKL (5pm, Terengganu).
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
KLHC 5 5 0 0 19 5 15
TERENGGANU 5 4 0 1 22 10 12
TENAGA 5 3 0 2 10 8 9
SAPURA 5 1 1 3 8 16 4
MAYBANK 5 0 2 3 8 13 2
UNIKL 5 0 1 4 2 17 1
