A bizarre controversy rocked the inaugural American Premier League (APL) as a big drama unfolded before the semifinal clash. The umpires reportedly were thrown out of the ground by cops after they declined to officiate as they claimed their dues haven't been cleared by the organisers. They demanded that Jay Mir, the owner of the league, pay them the outstanding amount of $30,000 before they would proceed to the field.
Meanwhile, the APL organiser claimed that the umpires, despite receiving a down payment, insisted on additional payment from the owner and threatened to halt the semi-finals. According to the organiser, they had to call the cops, who apparently threw the umpires 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.
At the same time, a renowned journalist Peter Della Penna threw light on the other side of the story.
Later, it was learnt that the semifinal proceeded as planned, albeit with the league owner's brother and a member from the batting team assuming the roles of umpires. Furthermore, Vijaya Prakash Mallela, an ICC Panel Umpire from the USA, verified to journalist Peter Della Penna that the original umpires had not received their $30,000 payment and that law enforcement was involved when they insisted on being paid for their services.
"Sorry, this has to end this way with umpires not getting paid 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 endeavors. You all have a safe journey to your destinations and stay safe. We were thrown out by Jay Mir by calling cops on us as we demanded our money towards expenses and services," Vijaya stated.
Talking about the match, Premium Indians triumphed over Premium Pakistan by a narrow margin of six runs, securing their spot in the APL final. Rahkeem Cornwall played a pivotal role in the victory, delivering an impressive performance by scoring 41 runs off just 20 balls.
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