Sockers Decide to Confirm Suspensions of 2 Players

Socker defender Waad Hirmez and midfielder Paul Dougherty were suspended for one day without pay last week for their role in an incident in a Wichita, Kan., hotel Dec. 29 that has resulted in the team being banned from staying in that hotel this season, Socker President Ron Cady said Monday.

The noise at 2:30 a.m., which led to complaints from guests at the hotel, came from Dougherty and Hirmez’s room.

Last Friday, when asked about possible suspensions to Dougherty and Hirmez, Cady had said he would not comment. Both Hirmez and Dougherty said Friday they were told by the team not to comment.

“It’s a personnel matter and it’s not our policy to comment on such matters,” Cady said Friday. “We’re not announcing fines, suspensions or any type of disciplinary matters.”

However, Cady confirmed the suspensions Monday.

The Sockers did announce Nov. 23 that Juli Veee had been suspended for two days for an incident in the same Wichita hotel Nov. 7. Also on Nov. 23, the team issued a statement saying that Veee had been suspended for 30 days for slapping assistant coach Johan Aarnio.

Cady said the 30-day suspension was announced because “when something is run on television (as this incident was), it is no longer a closed personnel matter.”

Cady added that the two-day suspension was announced because “it was a peculiar incident where a player got hit with two suspensions in a row.”