Issues sorted,Brasa gets his holiday

After days of uncertainty and several rounds of meetings with Sports Authority of India officials,the chief coach of the Indian mens hockey team Jose Brasa is finally set to...

After days of uncertainty and several rounds of meetings with Sports Authority of India officials,the chief coach of the Indian mens hockey team Jose Brasa is finally set to leave for Spain for a 15-day holiday on Wednesday.

Brasa was initially supposed to go on a month-long leave on March 18,soon after the World Cup. But several issues regarding payment of dues and Brasas claims of expenditure meant the Spaniard continued to stay put in the Capital. On Monday,he met SAI director-general Sayan Chatterjee for a final solution to the issues.

According to SAI officials,Brasa had claimed a lot of unpaid dues which,according to his contract,were invalid. There were four main issues. First,he wanted to go on paid leave even though he had exhausted 23 of the 24 days leave he had been allowed in a year. Second,he wanted us to pay for his friends visit for the World Cup even though he was allowed only to bring his family. Third,he wanted us to reimburse several of his personal expenses. He also was hesitant to conduct a workshop for Indian coaches despite being contractually bound to do so, said a senior SAI official.

Ministry cannot interfere

Sources added that even though Brasa had tried to meet the sports minister,he had been advised to sort out the problems with SAI instead. The minister can take policy decisions and anyone who has a concrete plan to develop sports in the country can seek an audience. But even he cant decide on administrative matters. Since this problem is solely between Brasa and the SAI,the ministry cannot interfere, a ministry official said.

While Brasa admitted earlier in the day that he would be meeting Chatterjee later on,he refused to say anything after the meeting.

However,sources say Brasa continued to persist in his demands in several meetings with senior SAI officials. On Monday,it was finally decided to pay him,as a special case for a 15-day leave,though his other demands have been rejected by SAI. There are 42 other foreign coaches in the country with similar contracts,how can we treat Brasa any different, officials asked.

Brasa is now expected to return on April 7 for a short camp for the core group of players beginning April 15.