MHF to take stern action against Matri for not turning up

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will take stern action against Matri of Perlis for failing to turn up for a Divison Two Group A match in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) against Bandar Penawar Sports School-Women High Performance Centre (BPSS-WHPC) at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru on Sunday.

The MHF secretary, Maninderjit Singh, said that he contacted Matri manager Shaari Awang yesterday and was told that the team were not allowed to travel to Johor Baru by their school principal.

“We are surprised over why the principal denied the team the chance to complete their league fixtures with just two matches more to play,” he said.

The other match on the fixture for Matri, who are second last in the standings with one win, a draw and two defeats, is against SMK Datuk Sheikh Ahmad of Perlis in Alor Setar on April 29.

Maninderjit said added that BPSS-WHPC had been awarded a 3-0 win over Matri by default.

“We have booted out Matri from the competition and have referred the matter to the technical committee, who will meet this week to discuss the issue,” he said.

“We will recommend to the technical committee to take stern action against them. They may not be allowed to feature in MJHL anymore.”

Division Two has 14 teams divided into two groups. And top two teams from each group will play in crossover semi-finals on May 6. The final is slated for May 8.

The finalists will not only join six Division One side in the knockout competition but will also gain promotion to Division One next year.

Maninderjit said that matches in the knockout stage would be played over one leg and the quarter-finals will be held on May 13. The semi-finals will be held on May 15 and the final is slated for May 21.