The American Premier League (APL) saw a massive controversy after the owner and umpires got involved in a feud over payment. According to reports, the umpires claim that they were not paid their due amount of 30 thousand Dollars. On the other hand, APL has claimed that the umpires demanded the amount from the owner despite getting a down payment and blackmailed to stop the semi-finals. The organiser added that cops were called on the spot and the umpires were “thrown out of the ground”.
“The Umpires were paid a down payment and they held the semifinal hostage and blackmailed the owner in shelling out 30k or else no match. Danny Khan, Vijaya, Brian Owens were told that they cannot black mail and hold the semi hostage as an umpire but these greedy umpires didn’t budge at which point they were asked to leave so the match goes on and they refused and held the match hostage at which point cops called,” wrote APL through its X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
“And these greedy umpires were thrown out of the ground. An umpire should never hold a match hostage especially when they know it’s the playoffs and blackmail the league owner into submission,” it added.
Danny Khan ,Vijaya ,Brian Owens were told that they cannot black mail and hold the semi hostage as an umpire but these greedy umpires didn’t budge at which point they were asked to leave so the match goes on and they refused and held the match hostage at which point cops called
— American Premiere League (APL) (@APLCRICKETUSA) December 31, 2023
And these greedy umpires were thrown out of the ground .
An umpire should never hold a match hostage especially when they know it’s the playoffs and black mail the league owner into submission.
So please get the other side of the story first before posting a one sided story— American Premiere League (APL) (@APLCRICKETUSA) December 31, 2023
Meanwhile, renowned journalist Peter Della Penna also shared the statement of the other party.
“I am Vijaya Prakash Mallela, one of the ICC Panel Umpire from the USA. It was a pleasure working with the teams for the last 10 days. Sorry, this has to end this way with umpires not getting paid about $30,000.00 balance, after paying our own expenses. Police were called on us when we demanded the payment towards our services and expenses. We had no choice, but leave. Good luck to all of you in your future endeavours,” was written in the screenshot shared by Penna.
Here’s another update from the drama unfolding in Texas today at the American Premier League T20 cricket event. Umpires who had the cops called on them by APL official for not taking the field say they refused to take the field because they were owed… Approximately $30,000. https://t.co/rzodjRUVSg pic.twitter.com/VaK5WLeyXM
— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) December 30, 2023
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