Hockey India condemns Sjoerd Marijne’s allegations

Hockey India on Wednesday condemned former Indian women's hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne's allegations against the Indian sports administration. His tenure ended after India's fourth-place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Earlier, Marijne alleged that his final salary was put on hold following Hockey India 's (HI) recommendations, after he was denied a 'No Objection Certificate' for failing to return the official laptop.

The Dutchman's salary, amounting to USD 1800, is on hold as he has not returned the laptop costing around the due amount. He is also expected to file his report on the 2021 Olympics, which is still pending. Therefore, Hockey India is unable to issue an NOC due to the laptop.

"The SAI held his pending payments after receiving official intimation from Hockey India, which advised us not to give him NOC as he has still not submitted his official laptop," as per SAI sources.

Condemning Marijne for the issue, Hockey India stated that the non-return of the laptop amounted to data theft and appropriate action needs to be taken against him. He has been paid his salary till August 7, 2021 and the only due amount is of USD 1800.

"Not returning the laptop issued to him amounts to data theft since it contains enormous amounts of critical data on Indian players. We recommend to take necessary penal action against Marijne to facilitate the recovery of the laptop and the data it holds," HI Secretary General Rajinder Singh said in a statement.

Secretary General of Hockey India Mr. Rajinder Singh expressed disgust regarding Sjoerd Marijne's allegations:

Speaking about the allegations made by the former chief Indian women's hockey team coach Marijne, Hockey India Secretary General Mr. Rajinder Singh stated that,

“The Indian sports ecosystem and us at Hockey India as well, hold the athlete at the highest regard. Any prize money or performance incentive is prioritised for them and rightly so. Payment of any such prize money is given at the discretion of the State and corporate. A Coach, receiving a salary for a specific job cannot hold himself in the same light and demand this," said Mr. Rajinder Singh.

Marijne's allegations of being asked to return the laptop tend to hamper the evolution of Indian sport, which has achieved a high during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

He further went on to enunciate certain problems disclosed by certain individuals hailing from European countries who come to India for lucrative jobs. He also described Hockey Belgium's resentment towards Indian athletes who made a clean sweep at the FIH Hockey Stars Awards.

“It is disappointing that individuals from certain European countries come to India for lucrative jobs however want to criticize the establishment once they have departed. We have also recently witnessed the response again of certain European countries to the Indian athletes winning the FIH Annual Awards, which does not speak well of them," added Mr Rajinder Singh.