Hockey India's disciplinary committee has penalized 11 players and various team officials from the Punjab National Bank and Punjab Armed Police squads due to a violent altercation during the 56th Nehru Senior Hockey Tournament in November. The incident, which left several athletes injured, was triggered by a conflict between Hardeep (Punjab Police) and Sumit (Punjab National Bank). According to a press release issued on Tuesday, Hardeep Singh and Jaskaran of the Punjab Armed Police have been suspended for 18 months, while teammates Dupinderdeep, Jagmeet, Sukhpreet, Sarvanjit, and Balwinder were given one-year bans effective December 11 for committing Level 3 offenses under the league's conduct rules.
The disciplinary committee of Hockey India has suspended 11 players for varying number of months along with team officials of Punjab Armed Police and Punjab National Bank for their involvement in an ugly brawl between the 2 sides during the 56th Nehru Senior Hockey Tournament in November. The brawl, which was sparked by a dispute between Punjab Police’s Hardeep and Sumit of Punjab National Bank, left several players injured. on Tuesday a Hockey India release said “The committee placed Punjab Armed Police players Hardeep Singh and Jaskaran under 18 months suspension while Dupinderdeep, Jagmeet, Sukhpreet, Sarvanjit and Balwinder have been suspended for 12 months with effect from December 11 this year for their involvement in the Level 3 offence under Hockey India League Code of Conduct”.
Amit Sandhu, the manager for Punjab Armed Police, received an 18-month suspension for a Level 3 violation. Additionally, the committee suggested that the Punjab Police team be banned from all-India competitions for three months, specifically from March 10 to June 9, 2020. From the Punjab National Bank side, players Sumit Toppo, Gursimran, and Sukhjeet are suspended for 12 months. Their captain, Jasbir Singh, was handed a six-month ban, as he is held accountable for his team's behavior during the match.
The announcement also noted that Punjab National Bank manager Dubey is suspended for six months because his team failed to adhere to the sanctioned Code of Conduct. Furthermore, the committee recommended a three-month hiatus for the entire Punjab National Bank team, making them ineligible for national tournaments from December 11 through March 10, 2020.
Once their initial bans expire, all suspended players will remain on probation for an additional two years. The disciplinary action also extended to the staff: Tournament Director Kishore received a three-month suspension for negligence, and umpire Shakeel was banned for one year. It was further decided that all involved players, officials, and member units would be on a one-year probation following their sanctions; any further violation of the Code of Conduct will be treated as an immediate Level 3 offense, resulting in an automatic one-year suspension.
Further it was agreed that all the above complicated players, officials and state member unit would be on probation for year after the expiry of their sanctions and any breaches of the Code of Conduct would constitute an immediate 3 offence and the players will automatically be suspended for a year.