The Indian Football team was at the receiving end of a howler from the referee and the linesman as Qatar found the back of the net to level, against India in their FIFA World Cup Qualifier Round 2 match, in the 73rd minute of the game as Qatar put the ball into the back of the net after the ball had clearly gone out of bounds before Ahmed Al Rawi beat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from outside the box to give the hosts the win.
India had to win the game in order to secure a historic qualification to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In the 73rd minute of the game, the ball which had clearly gone past the limits of play was pulled back in by a Qatari player for Al Hasmeni Al Hussein as Youssef Ayman tapped it into the back of an empty net.
The Indian unit rose up in protest, but the cries fell on deaf ears as the linesman and the official had let one slide right under their nose.
India looked spirit despite the calamitous error, as they surged ahead looking for a goal to reestablish the lead that would have carried them into the next round, but were left heartbroken as Ahmed Al Rawi, who had a forgettable showing on the day up until the 85th minutes beat the Indian custodian from outside the area to give his sie the win and shatter the hopes of the Indian faithful.
The Indian fans took to social media to vent their frustration as #Shame started to trend on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Rank 34th Qatar did an open robbery against Rank 121st India even when Qatar is already qualified for 3rd round.Seriously what a pathetic refereeingAbsolutely heartbreaking moment for Indian fans right now#QATIND #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/LjeupL34RD
— Bruce Wayne (@_Bruce__007) June 11, 2024
CLEARLY NOT A GOAL……!!!!!! Indian team clearly robbed off here …WTF#IndianFootball | #QATIND | #AsianQualifier pic.twitter.com/EzeQlcreyH
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) June 11, 2024
Didn’t Lose, Forcefully Defeated #AFC Shame! #FIFA Shame! #IFTWC#IndianFootball #FIFAWCQ #QATIND pic.twitter.com/vQdHz8hH4p— IFTWC – Indian Football (@IFTWC) June 11, 2024
This is blatant cheating and freaking disgrace!!! WTF. Shame on Qatar and the referee #QATIND #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/TyWnDo4nCo— sohom (@AwaaraHoon) June 11, 2024
India just got robbed in a WC qualifier.A decision that could change indian Football
All Thanks to Profesional Cheaters Qatar. #QATIND #IndianFootball #Fifa pic.twitter.com/3W3YzlAYAH
— Hemant Batra (@hemantbatra0) June 11, 2024
USE THIS POST TO THROW YOUR FRUSTRATION #IndianFootballTHESE 3 PEOPLE DESTROYED THE DREAMS OF 150 cr PEOPLE! #Robbed #QATIND pic.twitter.com/xuqX5dlHQO
— DRESSING ROOM TALKS (@DressingRoom07) June 11, 2024
Linesman has had an absolute howler here BUT the ball is not dead until the whistle blows and the whistle did not blow! #QATIND pic.twitter.com/oIO6sIp7Kq— Joe Morrison (@joefooty) June 11, 2024
Yes, the ball did cross the goal line and referee here made a glaring mistake. But what was Gurpreet doing? With a wealth of experience under his belt and being the captain of the side, he should have been more vigilant. This is amateurish from GSS. #QATIND #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/Pt4sa8QgJ9— Debapriya Deb (@debapriya_deb) June 11, 2024
We have been robbed! Share your thoughts on this call ⬇️#QATIND #FIFAWorldCup #AsianQualifiers #BlueTigers #IndianFootball #Goalpic.twitter.com/njGFLb4jB1— India at Paris 2024 Olympics (@sportwalkmedia) June 11, 2024
. @FIFAcom @FIFAWorldCupThis cannot be a silly mistake!! #IndianFootball #WCQ #QATINDpic.twitter.com/DfFboC3EIw— Abdul Rahman Mashood (@abdulrahmanmash) June 11, 2024
The Blue Tigers, who began the night in second place in the group, were relegated to third place after the defeat, thus losing the opportunity to make it to Round 3 of the World Cup qualifiers. They will now proceed to the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Third Round qualification.
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