In a blow for Pakistan hockey, captain Ammad Shakil Butt has been refused a visa to travel to the United Kingdom for the next set of games in the FIH Pro League, thereby missing out on the next games in England.
Ammad is not in the plans for the remaining four games of the Pro League, which will be played between June 23 and 27.
However, Pakistan team is currently playing in Belgium as they play the penultimate games of the tournament against Belgium and Spain.
The team is off to a rough start to their campaign, with three of their first four games lost.
Sources indicated that the visa denial may be connected with an overstay in the UK in 2022-23 by Ammad.
He was expected to receive a visa extension via his club, but he is said to have stayed in England longer than the six-months that were allowed.
But the extension process was not finished and led to an overstay.
Ammad then made an application for asylum in the UK, which was rejected, sources further said.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) tried to sort the matter out and got clearance from the Pakistani authorities for the captain but failed to achieve any results. Now Ammad is expected to return to Pakistan soon.
Pakistan will play arch-rivals India and hosts England in the last part of the tournament.
In the meantime, head coach Manzoor-ul-Hasan Senior’s visa is also yet to be issued.
PHF Director High Performance Tahir Zaman could be in charge of the team while it is on tour for England.
The visa issues have created worries in the federation as it is concerned that these developments will have an impact on the international image of the Pakistan hockey team.
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