Pakistan hockey team manager Anjum Saeed was allegedly removed from a flight while returning to the country after being accused of smoking on board, according to reports.
Geo News reported that the national hockey team was returning home from Argentina when their flight made a stopover at another airport for transit. During the stopover in Brazil, Anjum Saeed allegedly smoked after the aircraft had stopped.
According to Geo, the airline crew reported the incident to security officials. Following the complaint, security personnel offloaded Anjum Saeed from the aircraft due to strict enforcement of smoking regulations.
Reporters added that despite repeated requests from the entire squad, security officials did not reconsider their decision. As a result, the manager and one player were offloaded, while the rest of the team continued their journey back to Pakistan.
The national squad returned to Pakistan two days earlier, while Anjum Saeed and the player arrived back in the country late last night.
Security sources further claimed that Anjum Saeed was taken into custody and fined. It was also stated that influence was used, after which the matter was resolved with a fine.
Responding to the reports, Anjum Saeed denied that any such incident took place.
He said that no smoking incident occurred and clarified that he stayed back in Dubai along with one player due to work-related reasons.
Source: Geo News