Grey areas a worrying factor

THERE are plenty of grey areas in the proposed auto-play rule which the International Hockey Federation (FIH) aim to introduce by May, but still the Malaysian Hockey Federation Umpires Board (MHFUB) will use it for the Under-19 tour nament which starts on Feb 20.
In a gist, the auto-play rule no longer requires a player to pass the ball from a free hit, before he can play it again. The player can now immediately start attacking from a free-hit, making the game much faster.
The Euro Hockey League has already started using it.
“We have yet to receive a draft of the proposed rule change from FIH, and I will be writing to them soon to clear some matters as the Umpires Board feels the players should be given a head start as we will be hosting the Junior World Cup in June,” said MHFUB chairman Amarjit Singh.
The new rule is set to cause more misery to defenders, as players taking a free-hit just outside the opponents semi- circle may be allowed to run with the ball into the semi-circle and take a hit at goal, or manufacture a penalty corner.
“These are some of the grey areas which has yet to be addressed by the FIH, and when we hold a meeting on Feb 15, we hope to have more answers so that we can advise teams taking part in the Under-19 tournament on the correct procedures,” said Amarjit.
Malaysia will co-host the Junior World Cup with Singapore on June 7-21, and it is highly likely that the new rule will be used.
Meanwhile, the International class umpires pool has al most reached its last drop in Malaysia, as Amarjit is the only one eligible to umpire in the Junior World Cup.
“Yes, I am the only one left standing, but I have yet to receive an appointment from the FIH for the Junior World Cup.
“The situation is quite bad, as even though we have a pool of about 200 umpires, but the majority are too old as the youth are staying away.
“The MHFUB held its first meeting recently, and we will come out with a guidebook for umpires this month, and with the help of the Education Ministry, we hope to have a pool of young teachers soon.”
Amarjit is also of the opinion that club and national coaches should also undergo umpires courses, as it will make them more tolerant when sitting on the bench.
“I will speak to coaching committee chairman Dr Balbir Singh on how we can work together to have some umpiring courses for the coaches, and hopefully, there will not be many disputes once they come to terms with certain rules,” said Amarjit.