Australian hockey official Joshua Burt is grabbing the headlines these days after he sanctioned the suspension letter of Indian hockey star Amit Rohidas, who was handed a red card in the Olympic quarterfinal against Great Britain last week.
Joshua Burt’s Bollywood connection
Burt is the same man who played the role of Australia women’s team coach in Shah Rukh Khan-starred Chak De! India in 2007.
He had a negative role in the film and now has turned into a real-life villain for Indians after handing a one-match suspension to Rohidas, who will miss the men’s hockey semifinal against Germany on Tuesday.
It will be a big blow to the Men in Blue who are looking to clinch back-to-back medals at the Olympics after the bronze in Tokyo four years ago.
Burt writes Rohidas’s suspension letter
“Amit Rohidas was suspended for one match for a breach of the FIH Code of Conduct which occurred during the India vs Great Britain match on August 4,” the statement, authored by Burt, read.
“The suspension affects match No. 35 (India’s semi-final match against Germany), where Amit Rohidas will not participate and India will play with a squad of 15 players only.”
Who is Joshua Burt?
Joshua Burt was born in Melbourne and is the technical delegate of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Burt has coached and officiated international hockey games for several years and was part of the officiating team in both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics.
The FIH’s technical officials and umpiring committees has selected 5 Australian officials for the Paris Games, with Burt being designated as the Technical Delegate.
