MCT: Indian hockey coach upset at umpiring decisions:
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| India |
December 5, 2004
New Kerala, India
Indian hockey coach Gerhard Rach has vented his ire at umpiring decisions against his side during their opening match against Spain in the Champions Trophy tournament here, saying they had cost his side heavily.
"All I can say is that it was a goal by our player in the second half which the umpire (Ged Curran) disallowed. It is incomprehensible why he disallowed the goal," Rach said.
The coach's comments came a day after Spain thrashed India 4-0 in their opening match at the National Stadium here.
Rach, a German who joined the Indian squad weeks before the Athens Olympics, also fumed at Curran's decision to not allow a penalty corner after consulting his colleague Jordi Oliva, though the Indian players protested strongly.
"Everybody saw that it was a short corner. But then again the umpire refused to award the penalty corner. But I don't want to say anything on this kind of umpiring," he said.
Rach again refused to comment when asked whether the absence of veterans like Dhanraj Pillay and Jugraj Singh was affecting the team.
"I do not want to comment on these type of questions. Can Dhanraj Pillay win matches like the one we played against Spain?" he questioned instead.
"All I can say is that (the) defeat is a big disappointment but like other outfits we are eying the World Cup and the Champions Trophy is part of the preparations," he said.
He, however, said: "It is total disappointment for losing a match and my side made a lot of mistakes, especially in the second half and failed to control the attacking game of the opponents."
Indian captain Dilip Tirkey blamed missed chances for his team's defeat.
"Not being able to score goals is an old habit with us and obviously it will not go away easily," the defender said.
"We made silly mistakes out there. There is no point blaming umpires if we can't get our act right."
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