NEW DELHI: After much criticism from all quarters, the International Hockey Federation, on Wednesday, accepted that the newly-introduced referral system has some grey areas which need to be ironed out before making it a permanent part of the game.
In a media summit organised on the sidelines of the hockey World Cup, FIH Umpires' Manager Clive McMurray said the referral system would be analysed after the ongoing mega event.
"The referral system has come up with some issues but it is very much in trial stage. The system has some grey areas and we (FIH) completely understand that," McMurray said at a city hotel.
"Any rule can be problematic while interpreting. That is happening here. The referral system is not to make the game error free but to eliminate gross errors and decision which can change the result of a match," he said.
The South African umpire, however, came in support of his colleagues and said the field officials are doing their job with utmost sincerity.
"The umpires are here to serve the game and not to be bullies. They are here to promote the game of hockey. They are here to make it more attractive and entertaining spectacle. They are here to ensure that the teams play their part in all decisions," McMurray said.
The referral system, introduced for the first time in a World Cup here after making its debut in the Champions Trophy in Australia last year, has been under the scanner right from the start of the tournament.
Not only India coach Jose Brasa and his Australian counterpart Ric Charlesworth were the strong protesters of the system, it also irked South African captain Austin Smith who termed it "bizarre and imperfect".
The Times of India
Thursday, March 11, 2010
FIH admits it messed up World Cup
Bad management coupled with an overzealous police force spoilt the hockey World Cup.
The international hockey federation has admitted the World Cup could have organized better.
In an interaction with the media on Wednesday morning, a discussion on the future of the game lost its focus after Press personnel once again complained of mismanagement.
The FIH, which is planning the first world club championship in India from next year, admitted it was at fault and the show could have been better handled.
FIH media manager Arjen Meijer said: "Yes, there were a few things that we could have done better, but you will always face problems when you organise a world event," he said.
Meijer indicated the organisation following up to the event was poor. He said, "Even five days before" the media box was not ready. There have already been complaints about the pitch from many sides, including Indian coach Jose Brasa.
Meijer said the security has left a bad taste in the mouth. In spite of going through a four-tier security, the media has virtually been quarantined and left at the mercy of policemen "following orders" to the T.
The FIH manager said: "After the Pune blast, the police was cautious. When one wants good security, such measures were unavoidable."
However, Meijer said India could be hosting several international tournaments. Happy at the response from the crowd and the sponsors, the FIH obviously knows where the business lies.
Hopefully, the FIH and the local organisers will get their act right.
ESPNStar.com
The international hockey federation has admitted the World Cup could have organized better.
In an interaction with the media on Wednesday morning, a discussion on the future of the game lost its focus after Press personnel once again complained of mismanagement.
The FIH, which is planning the first world club championship in India from next year, admitted it was at fault and the show could have been better handled.
FIH media manager Arjen Meijer said: "Yes, there were a few things that we could have done better, but you will always face problems when you organise a world event," he said.
Meijer indicated the organisation following up to the event was poor. He said, "Even five days before" the media box was not ready. There have already been complaints about the pitch from many sides, including Indian coach Jose Brasa.
Meijer said the security has left a bad taste in the mouth. In spite of going through a four-tier security, the media has virtually been quarantined and left at the mercy of policemen "following orders" to the T.
The FIH manager said: "After the Pune blast, the police was cautious. When one wants good security, such measures were unavoidable."
However, Meijer said India could be hosting several international tournaments. Happy at the response from the crowd and the sponsors, the FIH obviously knows where the business lies.
Hopefully, the FIH and the local organisers will get their act right.
ESPNStar.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Dutch fall but advance to last-four
At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, Germany topped Pool A by beating New Zealand (5-2) while The Netherlands fell to Korea (1-2). The semi-finals will oppose Germany to England, and Australia to the Netherlands.
At the beginning of the last day of pool play, everything could still happen in pool A with four teams (Netherlands, Germany, Korea and New Zealand) still mathematically able to earn a semi-final berth depending on the combination of results!
Game 28 – Germany v. New Zealand: 5-2 (half-time: 2-0)
Germany, reigning World Cup holders, needed to win against New Zealand to automatically qualify without having to rely on the result of the following match between The Netherlands and Korea. They immediately pushed forward and created a number of chances for Moritz FÜRSTE and Philip WITTE before Christoph MENKE opened the scoring, deflecting high in the goal roof a perfect cross from Florian FUCHS.
Match facts (Germany v. New Zealand):
> Germany qualified for the semi-finals for a record 11th time.
> Germany only failed to reach the semi-finals at Barcelona 1971.
> New Zealand now play in the Final 7-8 against India, unless Argentina beat Canada. In that case New Zealand play in the Final 9-10 against South Africa.
> The Black Sticks have never finished lower than 10th in the World Cup competition.
> New Zealand’s best finish in the competition is seventh place, which they achieved in Amstelveen 1973, Kuala Lumpur 1975 and Bombay 1982.
> Florian Fuchs is Germany’s leading goal scorer this tournament with 4 goals.
> Germany are reigning Olympic champions and two time defending world champions and are making a bid to become the first nation to win the FIH World Cup three times in a row.
Game 29 – Netherlands v. Korea: 1-2 (half-time: 1-1)
With everybody busy trying to figure out what the various possibilities of results in this game would produce in the standings, The Netherlands offered a beginning of answer by scoring within 30 seconds of play by Ronald BROUWER, brilliantly set-up by Teun DE NOOIJER. Korea reacted with their traditional quick passes and speedy runs, but they could not shake or penetrate the steady Dutch defense.
Match Facts (Netherlands v. Korea):
> The Dutch have now reached the WC semi-finals for the 8th time, and for the first time since 2002, when they lost 4-1 to Australia in the semi-finals.
> The Dutch finish second in Pool A to take on Australia in the semi-finals, whereas Germany play England.
> Germany are the only teams still unbeaten after the Pool matches.
> Ronald Brouwer ‘s (NED) opening goal after 25 seconds is the fastest goal scored at Delhi 2010.
> Mark Pearson (CAN 33 seconds vs. NZL) and Phillip Burrows (NZL 39 seconds vs. NED) also scored in the first minute this tournament.
> However, all three teams that scored a first minute goal at Delhi 2010 ended up losing the match.
> Nam Hyun-Woo (KOR) scored his 4th PC goal this tournament. Only Taeke Taekema (NED) and Luke Doerner (AUS) have scored more PC goals at Delhi 2010.
> Korea will take on Spain in the Final 5-6. This is the first time they play in a fifth place play-off.
> In the last two World Cups (2002 and 2006) Korea came fourth.
> In 1994 and 1998 Korea reached the Final 7-8, losing on penalty strokes to Argentina in 1994 and beating Canada in 1998.
Game 30 – Canada v. Argentina: 2-4 (half-time: 0-1)
The final game of pool play pitted the two arch-rivals from the Americas, usually opposed in Pan American competitions (it will be their first encounter in a World Cup). Canada edged Argentina in dramatic fashion in the last two major competitions (2007 Pan American Games and 2009 Pan American Cup) and Argentina, playing well here in Delhi, were no doubt eager to avenge these two defeats.
Match facts (Canada v. Argentina):
> Argentina qualified for the Final 7-8. Their win over Canada made them finish fourth in Pool A, beating New Zealand on goal difference.
> Argentina now play India for 7th place.
> In 1978 and 1994 Argentina also played in the 7th place play-off, losing to England in 1978 to finish 8th and beating Korea on penalty strokes in 1994 to finish 7th.
> Argentina’s best World Cup ranking is 6th in 1986 and 2002. In 2006 Argentina finished 10th.
> New Zealand play South Africa in the Final 9-10 and Canada play Pakistan for 11th place.
> Canada finished the pool standings on zero points. They are the first team since Belgium and Cuba in 2002 to lose all their World Cup pool matches..
Results Day 10 - Tuesday 9 March 2010
Germany v. New Zealand 5:2 (2:0)
GER 15mn Christoph MENKE (FG) 1:0
GER 28mn Florian FUCHS (PC) 2:0
GER 47mn Philip WITTE (FG) 3:0
NZL 51mn Shea MCALEESE (PC) 3:1
NZL 54mn Nicholas WILSON (FG) 3:2
GER 63mn Moritz FÜRSTE (PC) 4:2
GER 64mn Matthias WITTHAUS (PC) 5:2
Netherlands v. Korea 1:2 (1:1)
NED 1mn Ronald BROUWER (FG) 1:0
KOR 31mn Hyun Woo NAM (PC) 1:1
KOR 45mn Jong Ho SEO (FG) 1:2
Canada v. Argentina 2:4 (0:1)
ARG 29mn Lucas Martin VILA (PC) 0:1
ARG 43mn Matias Enrique PAREDES (FG) 0:2
ARG 56mn Mario ALMADA (FG) 0:3
CAN 60mn Scott TUPPER (PC) 1:3
CAN 65mn David JAMESON (FG) 2:3
ARG 70mn Tomas ARGENTO INNOCENTE (FG) 0:4
Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Germany 11 pts 2) Netherlands 10 pts (+10) 3) Korea 10pts (+8) 4) Argentina 6 pts (-2) 5) New Zealand 6 pts (-4) 6) Canada 0 pt
Pool B: 1) Australia 12 pts (+17) 2) England 12 pts (+5) 3) Spain 9 pts 4) India 4 pts (-4) 5) South Africa 4 pts (-15) 6) Pakistan 3 pts
Schedule for last three days:
Thursday 12 March
15:35 – 11th-12th – Canada v. Pakistan
18:05 – semi-final – Germany v. England
20:35 – semi-final – Australia v. Netherlands
Friday 12 March
15:35 – 9th-10th – New Zealand v. South Africa
18:05 – 7th-8th – Argentina v. India
20:35 – 5th-6th – Korea v. Spain
Saturday 13 march
15:35 – 3rd-4th
18:05 – Final
South Africa blow to India
At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, England suffered their first defeat of the competition at the hands of Spain (0-2) and Australia grabbed the lead of pool B with their victory over Pakistan (2-1), while South Africa produced another excellent performance to tie India (3-3).
Game 25 – Spain v. England: 2-0 (half-time: 1-0)
England, still unbeaten in this competition, were the first qualified for the semi-finals of this World Cup, while Spain, semi-finalists of the last three World Cups, needed to beat England, then count on Pakistan beating Australia later in the day, to have a chance to make their way to the final four on goal difference.
Match facts (Spain v. England):
> Spain will play in the Final 5-6 on Friday, 12 March, unless PAK beat AUS by at least 13 goals.
> Spain have featured in the Final 5-6 three times winning on all three occasions beating ENG (3-0 in 1973), India (2-0 in1978) and Argentina (3-2 in 1986).
> Pau Quemada scored his 4th PC goal at Delhi 2010.
> Eduard Tubau scored his first goal in Delhi and his ninth in World Cup competition. Only Ignacio Escudé has scored more World Cup goals for Spain (11).
> This marked the first time England failed to score in a WC match since they fell 1-0 to Korea on 8 September 2006.
> England have now failed in score in 3 of 7 World Cup matches against Spain.
> Australia can now finish top in Pool A if they beat Pakistan.
Game 26 – Australia v. Pakistan: 2-1 (half-time: 0-1)
In the second game of the day, Australia had a chance to top the pool with a win, thanks to their goal difference boosted by their record win against South Africa (12-0). They were facing a Pakistani outfit struggling in this competition, with defeats at the hands of India, England and South Africa and a meagre win over Spain.
Match facts (Australia v. Pakistan):
> Australia beat Pakistan 2-1 to become group winner in Pool B, beating England on goal difference.
> This is Australia’s ninth semi-final berth. Only Germany has played more semi-final matches (10, excluding 2010).
> Pakistan will finish 5th or 6th in the Pool depending on the result of the South Africa – India match.
> Des Abbott scored twice to lift his WC total to four goals. He now joins Glenn Turner (AUS) as player with most field goals scored at Delhi 2010 (4).
> Sohail Abbas, Pakistan’s top goal scorer in WC competition is now on 18 goals. The all-time WC record stands at 26 goals and is held by Paul Litjens (NED). Amongst active players only Taeke Taekema (NED) has scored more goals (19).
Game 27 – South Africa v. India: 3-3 (half-time: 1-2)
The last game of pool B opposed South Africa and India, both with three losses and only one win. South Africa were nevertheless in a positive mind after their historic win against Pakistan while India had lost three games in a row since their opening win against arch-rivals Pakistan. Unfortunately, the local crowd had lost some of its devoted patience for its team and the venue was only half full when it was overcrowded for the previous games of the host team.
Match facts (South Africa v. India):
> India finish four and qualify for the Final 7-8. This is their best WC result since 1994, when they finished fifth.
> India have never played in a Final 7-8 match in World Cup competition.
> South Africa, ranked 13th in the world, will play the Final 9-10. They will at least equal their best WC result ever which is 10th place in 1994.
> South Africa have now conceded 28 goals in five matches at Delhi 2010.
> India hold on to their unbeaten status in World Cup matches against South Africa: 1 win and 3 draws.
> Pakistan will play the Final 11-12, like they did in 1986 (11th), when they got their worst result in World Cup competition.
Results Day 9 - Monday 8 March 2010
Spain v. England 2:0 (1:0)
ESP 35mn Pau QUEMADA (PC) 1:0
ESP 64mn Eduard TUBAU (FG) 2:0
Australia v. Pakistan 2:1 (0:1)
PAK 24mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 0:1
AUS 39mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 1:1
AUS 68mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 2:1
South Africa v. India 3:3 (1:2)
RSA 8mn Lloyd NORRIS-JONES (FG) 1:0
IND 17mn Sarvanjit SINGH (FG) 1:1
IND 24mn Vikram PILLAY (FG) 1:2
RSA 39mn Justin REID-ROSS (PC) 2:2
RSA 47mn Austin SMITH (PC) 3:2
IND 66mn Shivendra SINGH (FG) 3:3
Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 10 pts 2) Germany 8 pts 3) Korea 7pts 4) New Zealand 6 pts 5) Argentina 3 pts 6) Canada 0 pt
Pool B: 1) Australia 12 pts (+17) 2) England 12 pts (+5) 3) Spain 9 pts 4) India 4 pts (-4) 5) South Africa 4 pts (-15) 6) Pakistan 3 p.
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