The Pakistan hockey team management was left red faced when the umpires penalized the side for fielding six instead of five players against India in the five-a-side match at the Asian Youth Hockey5s Championship being held in Muscat, Oman.
The incident took place on Friday night when as soon as the match started the umpires spotted six Pakistani players on the field whereas only five are allowed.
As a result the umpires sent out two players, leaving Pakistan with just three players on the field and India took full advantage of the situation. India won the contest 7-3.
In the 2022 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup held in Jakarta also a similar blunder from the Pakistan hockey team management resulted in Pakistan losing a qualification match to Japan after their late goal equalizer was disallowed by the umpires as they had 12 players instead of 11 on the field.
The outcome eventually resulted in Pakistan not qualifying for the 2023 World Cup and head coach, Khawaja Junaid being handed a life ban by the PHF. But the ban was lifted and Junaid is now in the main fold of the senior team management.
Published on Jul 25, 2026
