Hockey Olympian Anjum Saeed, who travelled with the senior Pakistan team to the FIH Pro League in Argentina as manager, landed in trouble after being offloaded in Brazil for smoking on the airplane while it was refuelling at the Rio de Janeiro airport. According to officials, Anjum and a Pakistan player were not allowed to board the flight to Dubai after he was found smoking during the stopover in Brazil. The official said the board had gathered its own information but wanted to see how the Pakistan Hockey Federation would proceed, given the seriousness of the issue. “Apparently the matter was escalated by Anjum and another player when the manager was confronted for smoking on the airplane as it refuelled,” he said. Pakistan, meanwhile, endured a poor campaign in their first-ever appearance in the FIH Pro League.

Source: The Telegraph December 20, 2025 09:29 UTC