Pillay turns villain again

The indisciplined and temperamental side of ace India hockey player Dhanraj Pillay reared its ugly face once again, when the mercurial forward manhandled the umpires in the final of the Nehru Cup hockey tournament between Indian Airlines and Punjab Police, in Delhi, on Monday.

Pillay, who plays for Indian Airlines, did nothing to improve his image -- that of a talented but volatile player prone to temperamental bouts -- as he argued, pushed and threatened the umpires in the match, won by Punjab Police 3-2 via a golden goal.

Trouble erupted when Punjab Police skipper Gagan Ajit Singh scored the golden goal following a penalty-corner, which was awarded by umpire Javed Sheikh, in extra-time. An infuriated Pillay argued with the umpire, urging him to disallow the goal. He claimed that the ball had hit his foot before Gagan Ajit could score.

As Sheikh turned down his appeal, Pillay abused the umpire and pushed him repeatedly.

Even during the first-half, the former India captain had a scuffle with the other umpire, Satinder Sharma. Irked over a decision that went against him, he mouthed expletives and threw away his stick in disgust.

Later, an unapologetic Pillay even misbehaved with the journalists covering the match.

"I don't want to say anything as I know my career is finished. You can write what you want. I don't care any more," Pillay shot back at reporters without any provocation.

Ironically, Pillay had won many hearts on Sunday in the semi-finals, as he dazzled to fashion Indian Airlines' 2-0 victory over Punjab and Sind Bank.

Technical Director of the tournament Kuku Walia later said he would place his report before the technical committee and also forward it to the Indian Hockey Federation.

"This was not expected from a player like Dhanraj Pillay and the incident has certainly dented the image of the Indian hockey," he said.

Sheikh, who was booed by the Airlines supporters after the match, did not turn up for the presentation ceremony.

He later said he took the right decision and felt that the goal was very much legal.

"I awarded the penalty-corner after Rajnish blocked a player inside the circle. The hit was taken correctly and the goal was all right."

Supporting the decision of the umpire, Walia termed Pillay's reaction as "unwarranted".

"Though the ball hit Pillay on the leg, the umpire asked the game to continue, applying the advantage rule in favour of Punjab Police. But the shocking thing was Pillay's behaviour," Walia said.

Airlines skipper Dilip Tirkey blamed poor umpiring for his side's defeat.

"The umpire should be very sure while taking such decisions in crucial matches. I think there was no need to give Punjab Police a penalty-corner in the first place."

He also underlined the need for introduction of third umpires in important matches.

Punjab Police manager and former international Pargat Singh condemned the incident and said that such behaviour by senior players "is killing Indian hockey".