Hearing into alleged breach of Code of Conduct by the Manager of Canada Mr Ajay Dube.
At the commencement of half time in the match Belgium v Canada on the 21st August 2008 the Canadian Manager Ajay Dube had a discussion with the ATD on duty Wiert Doyer. At the conclusion of that discussion Mr Dube called Mr Doyer an ‘idiot’ (the ‘alleged behaviour’).
The alleged behaviour, if proved, constitutes a breach of clause 2(a) of the Code of Conduct
(a) Verbal/physical abuse or hostility towards any other participant, person or any other member of the public
I therefore decided to hold a hearing into the alleged behaviour.
The hearing
Mr Doyer reported the alleged behaviour to me. He said that Mr Dube asked him if he (Mr Doyer) would like him (Mr Dube) to apologise.
Mr Dube was asked to attend my office at 11.00am. I read the above notes to him. Mr Dube said
1. He did not call Mr Doyer an idiot he called the situation idiotic.
2. The situation was that the players wanted to take their sticks to the change rooms to dry them. I asked Mr Doyer if this could occurred and he said each player would need to ask individually
3. As it was raining hard I considered this to be wrong and called this situation “idiotic”.
4. I would not refer to a volunteer ATD as an idiot as I am completely cognisant of the amount of hard work the officials put in.
Finding
I find that the alleged behaviour occurred and that it constitutes a breach of clause 2(a) of the Code of Conduct. To ask if an apology is required shows a serious misapprehension by Mr Dube of the nature of his behaviour. Even if I am subsequently found to be wrong and the word used was ‘idiotic’ this too constitutes a breach of clause 2(a). The level of seriousness also does not differ materially.
Penalty
I heard from Mr Dube as to penalty. He said he was sorry, he was trying to do the best for his players, get them out of the rain into a dry room so they could regrip. What he said was wrong and he is sorry. He said he had chosen the wrong words to express.
Decision
This is a level 1 offence - Using rude or abusive language, gestures or hand signals gestures which are considered to be obscene, offensive, or insulting (emphasis added).
The penalty suggested is a reprimand and/or suspension for a minimum of one match. In my view this is a serious breach of the Code of Conduct. The Manager of a team is its leader with responsibilit5y for the behaviour of the team as a whole. This type of behaviour from a Manager sets a bad example for his players and requires a strong personal deterrent as well as a general deterrent.
In my view the appropriate penalty is that Mr Dube be suspended from taking part in the next two (2) FIH World Level event matches played by Canada.
Ken Read
Technical Delegate
6.00pm, 21st August 2008.
