The Punishment That Never Was?

Everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, the severity of those mistakes can vary as can the consequences.

In almost every team sport players will make mistakes throughout the game, but it is the one mistake that leads to the opposition scoring or winning that is the one that everyone remembers.

Take the 1950 FIFA World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was playing Uruguay, and the Brazilians were so confident of a victory newspapers such as the Gazeta Esportiva in São Paulo and O Mundo in Rio de Janeiro proclaimed victory the day before the game!

The tournament was a round-robin event in those days, and all Brazil needed was a draw to be crowned World Champions.

With the game tied up at 1-1 in the 79^th minute Uruguay scored a second. Goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa, who was regarded as one of the best at the time, was caught out of position. Expecting a cross he was beaten at his near post, having left a bigger gap than normal. A nation blamed him for the defeat.

In the 1990’s, 40 years after that mistake the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ricardo Teixeira, would not allow him to be a commentator for the broadcast of an international match. Till the day he died in 2000 aged 79 people would point to him in the street and say, ‘that is the man who made a nation cry.’

In the year he died he said in an interview, “The maximum punishment in Brazil is 30 years’ imprisonment, but I have been paying, for something I am not even responsible for, by now, for 50 years.”

At the end of the day, it is just a game. No one should have to live with such a mistake their whole life and be vilified for it.

There have been many sports people who have made mistakes away from the field of competition, and many of those have paid the price for their mistakes with a spell in prison.

In today’s world, across many sports we see player misdemeanors hushed up. Either those making accusations or who have proof of a wrongdoing being paid off to protect the sport or club’s “asset.”

The proven problem with such behaviour is the players in question fail to recognize the error of their ways. Many still believe what they are doing is acceptable, and that if they are caught others will step in, clean it up and make it go away. Of course, when they retire and continue to behave in such a manner there is no one to clean up after them and they face the consequences on their own. Many suddenly questioning why they are in trouble.

There have been arguments that sport and sporting teams should be held accountable under the laws of in loco parentis. This term being Latin for “in the place of a parent,” and refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent while that individual is under their control.

What is worrying is how many sports and clubs who have sheltered these individuals from accountability fail to help rehabilitate them back into normal society. Once they are no longer of use, they are left to cope on their own. Many struggle with that adjustment.

The general public in the main will accept that most sports stars are fallible. However, just as the public must be accountable for their actions at work and in life, they expect the sports stars to be too.

This is even more important when a player is selected for a national team. They are representing a nation. Their behaviour reflects on that nation. This is a privilege afforded very few.

This is why when the Australian Cricket team was caught cheating in South Africa using sandpaper on the ball, a nation was deeply wounded. While Australians like to win and play tough, they do not like cheats.

As many sports fans across the globe are aware Australian hockey player Tom Craig was arrested at the Paris Olympic Games for purchasing cocaine. Craig was arrested on the evening of Tuesday 6th August and was released on the Wednesday evening with a warning, but no fine or record.

It took Hockey Australia until the 11^th of September to announce the sanctions imposed on the player for his actions.

Despite this there remain many unanswered questions. It is public knowledge now that six players were at the scene when the transaction took place.

Some have defended Craig saying that he was not just purchasing the cocaine for himself, and therefore those who were with him deserve to be punished as well. Yet they have essentially not done anything wrong.

However, if as was alleged Hockey Australia were aware of a recreational drug problem prior to the team leaving for the Paris Olympic Games, and those believed to have been taking drugs prior to the Olympic games were part of the group of six, then should they too have faced questioning and possible sanctions?

There have been a number of other allegations made that there were several incidents which could have resulted in negative publicity for the International Olympic Committee, and that French authorities assisted in preventing this happening. That being the case was Craig simply unlucky to get caught? Or was this why there was in the end no charge? No doubt in time we will find out.

The fact is he was caught. As covered in Sounds of Silence the big question was who would hand down the punishment that clearly had to happen. Would it be the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Australian Olympic Committee or Hockey Australia, or all three?

On the 11^th of September Hockey Australia announced that “Hockey Australia’s Integrity Unit has imposed a 12-month suspension. Six months of this suspension will be served fully, with the remaining six months fully suspended, contingent upon meeting conduct and behavioural requirements.”

The press release went on to state “During the suspension, Craig will be prohibited from playing in any match, competition, or event at any level sanctioned or organized by Hockey Australia, including the upcoming Hockey One League and FIH Pro League seasons. Additionally, Craig is required to complete mandatory training and education programs as part of his sanction.

 Craig will remain eligible for selection in the 2025 National Men’s Hockey Squad, which is expected to be announced at the end of the year. Tom has had access to all of the athlete support services under our program and he will continue to do so throughout his suspension. His welfare remains our priority.”

This may answer the questions that have been flying around on social media and which were received directly by Not the Footy Show.

At the time of this announcement there were many in the sport who felt that this was an extremely soft punishment. Others around the world, and in other sports concurred, and laughed at the lack of sanction.

One person claimed that Craig was ‘a good bloke who had made a mistake.’ That may be so, but there are plenty of people in sport and life who are good blokes who have made mistakes, but they still must face the consequences of that mistake.

Once the punishment was announced by Hockey Australia should the FIH have stepped in with their own sanctions?  Should they have been the ones handing down the punishment as the offence occurred at one of their key events.

Should he have suffered an international sanction? As those announced by Hockey Australia appear to only affect Craig in Australia.  Yet his offence occurred on the World Stage at the sport’s biggest and most meaningful event. An event at which the FIH was celebrating its centenary.

The FIH’s Integrity code states:

3.2 All parts of this Integrity Code other than Section D apply to the following persons:

(a) any athlete who is subject to the jurisdiction of the FIH, any Continental Federation or any National Association, including, without limitation, any athletes who participate (or are selected to participate) in any Event(s) (Athlete).

Section C “Obligations Applicable to All Covered Persons states in sub section 7.2:

“All Covered Persons must avoid acts or omissions that give the appearance of impropriety, or that denigrate the FIH, or that bring (or have the potential to bring) the FIH, Hockey and/or sport generally into disrepute.”

In Hockey Australia’s code of conduct it states “Prohibited Conduct under the HA NIF includes, without limitation: Use, possession or trafficking of illegal drugs.

The argument is of course that at the Olympic Games the players are under the control of the Australian Olympic Committee, however does that prohibit the sport from handing down sanctions?

Clearly not as Hockey Australia handed down a punishment.

The problem is it leads to more questions.

To play overseas as a national team player Not the Footy Show has been advised that you need to obtain a release form from your National Association. Tom Craig would no doubt have obtained this prior to the Olympic Games in order to play in Germany. However, after being arrested in Paris Hockey Australia could have rescinded that permission. It would appear that they did not.

To play in the Hockey India League they would not have had to approve the nomination but based on advice given to us would have to approve participation. The player falls under the Hockey Australia umbrella and therefore according to advice received would have to obtain a release to play.

As one person questioned on social media, would Australia allow an Indian player who was arrested for purchasing drugs a visa to play hockey? The question now is will India issue Tom Craig with a visa?

The Hockey Australia punishment was stated as being “Six months of this suspension will be served fully, with the remaining six months fully suspended, contingent upon meeting conduct and behavioural requirements.”

So, when did that six-month period start?

Allegedly the Hockey Australia players agreements finished at the end of August 2024. They will not resume until the newly appointed coach announces the new squad at the end of 2024, or possibly the start of 2025.

Surely the suspension must start when the player is back in the Australian system? As some have said it must start at the earliest when the Australian Hockey One League started which was last weekend, as Craig was excluded from being a part of that specific competition.

There can be no doubt that the game was brought into disrepute by the player buying cocaine at the Olympic Games, but one must ask have those in power brought Australian hockey into disrepute by suspending a player only for the player to head overseas and play in two lucrative competitions? If they have given indeed signed a release form then surely they must be held accountable?

Does this reflect Australian Hockey’s fallen status in World Hockey that other nations choose to ignore and back such a suspension?

There are no winners in this. The game and hockey in Australia has been made to look foolish. More importantly a very dangerous message has been sent, that some actions do not result in consequences that will act as a deterrent to young players coming up.

Clearly the Code of Conduct document is not worth the paper it is written on.

Ultimately, to many across the world and appearances can mean a great deal, there have been no consequences for a player purchasing cocaine at the Olympic Games.

Maybe the powers that be have read ‘Crime and Punishment, and hope that Dostoevsky’s words are punishment enough, “the man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin,” but is that enough to protect the integrity of the game and Hockey Australia? Judging by reactions following the HIL Auction the answer is no.