Sports
ICC rejects PCB demand to remove Asia Cup match referee, claims Indian media
- PCB chairman to consult senior officials on next steps.
- ICC may replace Pycroft with Richardson for future matches.
- Pakistan suspends director for delay in forwarding complaint.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has turned down Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) request to remove match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup, Indian media reported on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the ICC formally informed the PCB of its decision last night, dismissing Pakistan’s stance that Pycroft had acted at the behest of the Indian team.
The PCB had filed an official complaint with the ICC, accusing Pycroft of violating the “Spirit of Cricket” by allegedly asking the Pakistan and India captains not to shake hands at the toss before their Asia Cup 2025 fixture on Sunday.
The complaint also referred to the absence of the customary handshake between the two sides after the match.
There are reports of a possibility of ICC match referee Richard Richardson being appointed as the match referee for Pakistan’s upcoming Asia Cup fixtures, though no official confirmation has been made.
Sources earlier said Pakistan was considering withdrawing from the tournament if its demand was not met, describing the next few hours as crucial for future deliberations.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is expected to consult senior government officials in Lahore later today to discuss the board’s next course of action.
The controversy arose after Pakistan and India captains avoided a handshake at the toss during their September 14 Asia Cup 2025 fixture, an omission reportedly directed by match referee Pycroft.
The same was repeated towards the end of the match, when the players of the opposing teams shook hands as per cricketing tradition, where the Indian team skipped the customary post-match handshake.
While the Indian players congratulated each other at the dugout after the match, they refrained from acknowledging or shaking hands with the Pakistani team.
Pakistan’s players lined up expecting the customary handshake, only to see the Indian team retreat and close the dressing room doors.
India’s victorious captain, Suryakumar, defended his team’s decision not to shake hands with the Pakistan players, saying that it was taken in alignment with their government and cricket board.
“We are aligned with the government and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Some things are above sportsmanship. Is it really sportsmanship if you don’t even shake hands with the opposing team? That was our answer,” he said.
The move prompted a strong reaction from the cricketing fraternity as well as Mohsin Naqvi, who heads both the PCB and is also the serving head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Not only did Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, in protest, refused to attend the post-match presentation ceremony, breaking from broadcast norms where captains usually share their thoughts, the PCB has filed a formal complaint with the ICC and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), calling for the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 — for reportedly instructing the omission of the customary handshake.
Apart from taking up the matter with the ICC, the PCB has also come down hard on its own Director of International Cricket, Usman Wahla, and has suspended him over failure to promptly forward an official letter to the ICC concerning the Asia Cup handshake controversy.
The Sunday’s match, the first ever since the two countries were involved in an armed conflict triggered by India’s cross-border attack, followed by Pakistan’s retaliation and launch of “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”.
The hostilities left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone, and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire was eventually reached.
The neighbours have not met on either side’s soil in a bilateral series since 2012 and only play each other in international tournaments on neutral ground as part of a compromise deal.
The second Sunday of the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy one for fans of Team USA.
Mikaela Shiffrin skis in the giant slalom — the race she won at the 2018 Olympics, and her second shot at a medal in Milan Cortina. It’s also the race where she suffered a severe injury with a puncture wound in 2024. Shiffrin has had to deal with PTSD from the crash, and competing again in Olympic giant slalom is part of her comeback. Speedskater Erin Jackson will attempt to defend her Olympic gold in the 500 meters. Pairs figure skating begins, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea the top American pair. They had clutch performances to help the U.S. win gold in the team event and have an outside chance of a medal. And U.S. men’s hockey will be back in action against Germany.
Key events (all times ET)
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4:00 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom
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11:03 a.m. — Women’s 500m speedskating
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1:45 p.m. — Pairs figure skating
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3:10 p.m. — Men’s hockey (USA vs. Germany)
MORE: Medal tracker | Full schedule of events | Olympics 101
Here’s a live look at the top moments from Sunday’s events.
With a global sporting spectacle going on nearby, locals in Milan flooded San Siro to witness a riveting Derby d’Italia between Inter Milan and Juventus.
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Sports
Olympic hockey fans raise Greenland’s flag during USA’s dominant win over Denmark, sparking viral reaction
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During Team USA’s comeback men’s hockey win over Denmark at the Winter Olympics, two fans raised the flag of Greenland in the stands to protest President Donald Trump’s intent to acquire Greenland for the U.S.
The flag was raised enthusiastically after Denmark took an early lead. However, the U.S. came back to win the game 6-3.
Vita Kalniņa and her husband Alexander Kalniņš, fans of the Latvian hockey team who live in Germany, held up a large Greenland flag during warmups and again when the Danish team scored the opening goal of the preliminary round game against the U.S., which ultimately beat Denmark 6-3.
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The United States’ Brady Tkachuk, right, challenges Denmark’s Oliver Bjorkstrand during a preliminary round match of men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
“We are Europeans, and I think as Europeans we must hold together,” Kalniņš told The Associated Press.
“The Greenlandic people decide what will happen with Greenland, but, as it is now, Greenland is a part of the Danish kingdom and, as Greenland is a part of Denmark, as in this case, we support both countries against the U.S.”
A Danish fan at the game, Dennis Petersen, said, “It doesn’t matter whatever sport it is — it could be tennis, it could be bobsledding, it can be ice hockey, it could be football — it has nothing to do with politics. … They are athletes, not politicians.”
An American fan at the game, Rem de Rohan, said, “I think this is the time for people to kind of put that down and compete country versus country and enjoy,” he said. “We love rooting on every country that’s been here.”
Fans on social media had their own reactions to the flag display and the result of the game.
“Now that the USA is up 4-2 could we place a wager that if the USA wins the game, Denmark gives up Greenland?” one fan wrote in response to the flag.
One fan wrote, “Team USA won, do we get Greenland now?”
The United States’ Jack Eichel, second right, celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during a preliminary round match of men’s ice hockey against Denmark at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Another fan similarly said, “How did that turn out? we won, we get greenland now.”
Some American conservative influencers used the U.S. victory as a springboard to make viral jokes about annexing Greenland.
The comeback victory by the U.S. appeared uncertain early in the game.
After trailing 2-1 through the first period, the Americans dominated on offense to take a 6-3 victory over Denmark Saturday in the Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
The Americans scored three unanswered goals to open the second period, with 4 Nations hero Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) and Noah Hanifin (Vegas Golden Knights) finding the back of the net.
Both sets of brothers on the team — Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack and Quinn Hughes — each had a point in the contest. Fourteen players had points for the Americans with a different goal scorer each time the lamp was lit.
The Americans had 47 shots on goal compared to Denmark’s 21.
The U.S. ends preliminary play Sunday with a game against Germany at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Americans will once again be heavy favorites, and a victory will put them into the knockout stage.
The Americans can also go right to the knockout stage with an overtime loss. With a regulation loss, their fate would be determined by Canada’s game against France and point differentials with Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
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But as a heavy favorite against a German team with just eight NHL players, the U.S. may not need to worry.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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