Literally a 12th man for Japan, FIH to probe incident

Japan lost the Pool B match 1-2 and the FIH said the result will stand

The FIH World Cup witnessed its first controversy here on Tuesday when Japan ended up having 12 players on the pitch instead of a maximum of 11 during the dying moments of their Pool B game against Korea at the Kalinga Stadium.

Looking for an equaliser after earning a penalty corner right at the death, Japan ended up having an extra player which however didn’t help their cause as Korea defended strongly to walk away 2-1 winners.

While the on-field FIH officials failed to spot the Japanese intrusion, images of it quickly began to circulate on social media, leaving the world body embarrassed.

FIH admitted there was a lapse but said the Japanese committed the mistake inadvertently.

“After the match, the FIH Officials – who have not spotted this situation on the moment – have spoken to the Japanese team who explained that they hadn’t realised this and expressed their most sincere apologies.

“The FIH Officials have also explained the matter to the Korean team,” the world body said in a media statement.

FIH said they are investigating the matter but the final result, for now, will remain unaffected.