NEW DELHI: International Hockey Federation president Narinder Batra has been forced by the FIH for his intemperate rants on Facebook against the UK police during the Hockey World League in London last year for summoning former Team India captain Sardar Singh in a sexual abuse case.
Batra is also a former president of Hockey India (HI).
Acting in his personal capacity, Batra had slammed the move by the UK authorities to question Sardar in the middle of a tournament without any prior intimation.
Batra’s outburst had led to the FIH initiating disciplinary proceedings against him.
According to a statement issued by the FIH, it has let off Batra with a written warning and an undisclosed penalty for his abusive posts against England hockey and the English law agencies last year.
FIH statement in full:
“The FIH Replacement Disciplinary Commissioner has concluded a disciplinary proceeding against the President of the FIH, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, regarding a Facebook post on 19 June 2017 on his personal account in which English law enforcement authorities were accused of acting in an inappropriate manner in relation to the summoning of Indian player Sardar Singh during the Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final London 2017. Dr Batra regrets his actions and has publicly apologised for his emotional statement.
“Dr Batra was given a written warning. He shall pay an undisclosed amount to a sports charity institution and bear the costs of the disciplinary proceeding.
“He is not restricted in any way to pursue his functions as the FIH President.”
