OLYMPIAN Kieran Govers survived a nasty hit behind his left ear, but his outburst on Facebook might just give him a second ‘concussion’.
The Australian took to social media to vent his frustration after his Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) teammate Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil suffered a similar fate, but @Zidane was not so lucky as he broke his jaw.
Govers absorbed a direct ball-hit from a reverse stick clearance in the Charity Shield of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) against Terengganu Hockey Team (THT). UniKL won the match 3-2.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin’s jaw cracked when the ball, also off a clearance, hit him on the chin while playing against HockAdemy on Sunday.
Govers, a two-time World Cup gold medallist, might now be penalised for breaking the MHL code of conduct for venting his frustration on Facebook.
“Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) we need to (have a) chat.
“Two head blows in two games. Luckily, I escaped with minor injuries, but unfortunately ‘big man’ Zidane (Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin) didn’t.
“You (MHC) have to look into the safety of players. The level of skill some of these players have been below the standard needed to play in the MHL.
“Last night, the code of conduct was (also) broken by an opposition off-field staff member, which no doubt made this situation happen, to your best Malaysian international player as well.
“One concussion and one broken jaw,” Govers posted on Facebook.
The MHC promptly called him up for a chat, as requested.
MHC competitions committee chairman Datuk Seri Anil Jeet Singh said: “My committee had a chat with Govers on the matter today (yesterday) and we will make an announcement soon.”
UniKL did not make a formal protest, but the competitions committee found allegations against a certain HockAdemy official ‘disturbing’.
“We are concerned about Govers’ allegation that a certain HockAdemy field staff ‘made this situation happen’ and that is why we called him up to investigate further,” said Anil Jeet.
UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj watched the video several times, and could not come to a concrete conclusion.
“As a former player (Malaysian international), I could not conclude whether the clearance (by Ali Rizwan) was deliberate or accidental.
“So I will leave it at that. UniKL will not file any protest as we are more concerned about Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin’s jaw operation on Thursday," said Arul.