Anendra Singh: Article balanced on all counts

I have read with interest comments on the HB Today website on this article first published in Monday's edition.

My name was inadvertently left out in an editing exercise from the news section.

In close to 30 years of journalism I have seldom ever had to leave out my name in any piece of work.

Besides, it makes little sense to do that considering I'm easily identifiable as a soccer writer for the major daily in Hawke's Bay.

The article was balanced and involved all three parties.

A "neutral" female spectator, who has no ties with either club or team but is acquainted with a few Fiji Indian families, spoke to me at the ground after Hibernian Club officials approached me to complain about alleged racist remarks.

I spoke to the complainant, the Havelock North club president Dave Lothian and his Hibs counterpart, Allan Jack.

I could have spoken to Havelock fans, just as I could have spoken to another family who had left the ground shortly before halftime, but the presidents were happy for their voices to be heard collectively on behalf of their respective clubs.

Having spoken to both club presidents, I agreed with the pair their responses would be officially the best way to go.

I did offer two Havelock fans the opportunity to speak to me once I had finished with the complainant but neither of them were prepared to wait.

A female fan offered her phone number to me to contact her at home but proceeded to join two other males to shout down the complainant at the carpark.

Fearing things could get out of hand, I took the woman complainant aside to interview her.

And, no, this wasn't orchestrated as some have implied. I have never seen the complainant before last Saturday.

I specifically drove to the Holt Cup final to get the basic details such as goal scorers and final result.

I headed off to the Pacific Premiership soccer match between Geon Taradale and Promotem Napier City Rovers at Taradale Park from there for about 20 minutes before dashing to the HB racecourse for the Makfi Challenge Stakes that Saturday.

Also, I'm not a member of the Hibs club. I'm now a member of the Port Hill club from this winter after almost eight years with the fledgling Hastings Rovers Club.

Yes, before that I was a member of the Hibs club for about three seasons.

During that spell the Hibs team in the Holt Cup final on Saturday didn't exist.

Yes, I'm of Indian ethnicity and born in Fiji but I'm a New Zealand citizen.

Furthermore, I will always report on any incidents of racism (alleged or otherwise) regardless of what ethnicity is involved.

Why the story ended up on page 1 is down to an editorial collective decision for myriad reasons, something which is exercised every day in the newsroom with every article reporters submit.

For the record, I have also cross-checked with the complainant if she's got "grandchildren" playing in the Hibs team.

No she doesn't but she regards youngsters in the team as "grandchildren" because she has babysat some of them for years.