Australia tour fiasco: Pakistan government revokes hockey captain Butt's 2-year ban

The Pakistan government on Friday revoked national hockey team skipper Ammad Shakeel Butt's two-year ban imposed by the national federation (PHF), terming the step as "illegal and unconstitutional".

Just before resigning from his position as Pakistan Hockey Federation president on Thursday, Tariq Bugti banned Butt for two years for his criticism of the PHF following the skipper's outburst against the mismanagement during the recent Australia tour.

But patron-in-chief, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif-appointed interim president of the PHF Muhuydin Ahmed Wani reversed the decision, stating it was an "illegal and unconstitutional step" by Bugti.

Bugti had resigned on Thursday in the wake of a huge fall out after the national side's return from Australia, where they faced logistical nightmares and had to stay in Airbnb residences despite the state-run Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) releasing 10 million rupees to the PHF for five-star hotel accomodation of the team during its FIH Pro League matches in Canberra.

A senior official of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry (which looks after all sports related issues) confirmed that Prime Minister Sharif had immediately accepted Bugti's resignation and appointed Wani as ad-hoc president of PHF and Brig Musratullah as Director-General.

Wani is a senior bureaucrat and was secretary of the ministry. "Both will manage hockey affairs on ad-hoc basis and try to repair the damage done," he said.

Soon after the team returned home in early hours of Wednesday, Butt and some other senior players told the waiting media at the airport that they can't work any further with the current management of PHF and the team management.

Butt disclosed how the players were fed lies, threatened to avoid speaking to the media about their problems in Australia, following which Bugti banned Butt for two years from international and domestic hockey for bringing Pakistan hockey into disrepute.

Butt had lambasted the PHF, stating that players were forced "to clean the kitchen and wash dishes" before going out to compete during the tour in which the side lost all its matches of the FIH Pro League against the home team and Germany.

This was after they spent hours on the road after the hotel earmarked for them declined them entry for lack of an advance payment by the PHF, despite the body getting the requisite funds from the PSB.

Butt had also alleged that a majority of the players were yet to get their daily allowances from the PSB and PHF for the last one year.

But Bugti shifted the blame for the fiasco on PSB, insisting that that the Board handled all the arrangements for the tour and was "responsible for whatever happened there".

Pakistan have so far lost all eight of its matches in the FIH Pro League to Netherlands, Argentina, Australia and Germany and are placed last in the nine-team competition.

Pakistan have to travel to Egypt after four months to take part in the final qualifying tournament for the World Cup.