NBP coach slams ‘making hockey player football official’

KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) coach Nasir Ismail on Friday questioned the appointment of former Railways’ hockey player Rashid Butt as match commissioner in the ongoing Premier League being held in Lahore.
“Rashid has been a hockey player of Railways. His appointment as a match commissioner is technically wrong because he does not know the technicalities of football,” Nasir told ‘The News’.
“He argues with the technical people despite the fact that he himself does not know about football. Only those should be posted who know football’s technicalities,” said Nasir, a former Pakistan assistant coach.
He also blasted the authorities for posting referees from Punjab only. “While holding an event in Lahore the PFF faces no problem at all to accommodate the referees. Currently referees in the Challenge Cup have been given free accommodation and they also get free meals. The authorities should also have taken referees from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. Only then would it have been a fair arrangement,” Nasir pointed out.
He was also unhappy with the condition of the Model Town Football Academy Ground. “The ground is unplayable. My team lost to Higher Education Commission (HE) because of the ground condition. I raised the issue in the managers’ meeting,” Nasir said.