Controversy over make up of Azerbaijan team

THE talk of the European Hockey Championships has been the sudden and unexpected appearance of five Koreans in the Azerbaijan ladies team.

And, when Azerbaijan scored a shock 2-2 draw yesterday against Spain, one of the tournament favourites, the inclusion of the Koreans in their side began to come sharply into focus for many observers.

There had been murmurings of dismay about the affair on Saturday prior to the competition beginning, but when Azerbaijan were beaten 7-1 by Germany on the opening day, most people shrugged the issue off.

However, as details of this ‘arrangement’ emerged – particularly things like the fact that the Koreans all got married on the same day to Azerbaijani men and received their passports on the same day as well – more questions are being asked.

Coach to the Azerbaijan side, Tahir Zaman (a native of Pakistan), had complained that the team’s preparation for this tournament had been compromised by problems securing visas for the team to travel to Manchester.

“We should have arrived in England on August 10 and had games arranged against Wales and Ipswich.

Unfortunately we had visa delays and didn’t get here until three days before the tournament,” Zaman said.

Asked about the inclusion of the Koreans in his squad, he added: “The girls from Korea are in Azerbaijan to promote hockey in the country. They are coming to play for the ATA Sports Club in Baku to promote league hockey as well as play for Azerbaijan and will be continuing to play for their club for another 10 months.”

Further quizzed about the happy coincidence of the girls’ suddenly marrying Azerbaijani men, Zaman commented: “That is a personal matter in their private lives and not an issue for the coach.”