By IANS,
Hyderabad : It is not just the media persons covering the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches who faced difficulties Tuesday, but éven the players fell victims to the organisers’ apathy and found tehir entry barred.
Robin Singh, the coach of Deccan Chargers, and two players were stopped at one of the gates by security personnel when they were entering the stadium before their match against Delhi Daredevils at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here Tuesday.
They were told that they were not authorised to enter through that gate and should go to another gate.
A shocked Robin Singh identified himself but the policemen were not convinced. Robin Singh, who was coming after net practice with the young local players, had to take a long route to reach the dressing room.
Mediapersons too had a tough time as security personnel entered into arguments with them though they showed their accreditation cards and match passes. Some security personnel also came out with new excuses to prevent journalists from entering. While one pointed out that the accreditation card did not have the name of the public relations agency which handled such cards, another insisted that they should not carry mobile phones inside.
This left media persons, especially those coming from other centres, fuming. They complained that the organisers were taking them for a ride.
“This is a deliberate attempt to harass media persons,” said one journalist. Intervention by senior police officials prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn.