Team India had to bow out of the race for historical progress to the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the very first time in a cruel manner as a refereeing blunder resulted in the Blue Tigers crashing out of the tournament following their 1-2 loss against Qatar at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Tuesday.
India were up by a goal when a horrendous decision by the linesman and the on field official to award a goal to Qatar despite the ball being pulled back into play by Hashmi Hussein for teammate Yousef Ayem to tap the ball into an empty net after the whole of the ball had crossed the whole of the line.
Qatar went on to overturn the lead with a long-range strike from Ahmed Al Rawi following the controversial goal and India were sent crashing out of the qualifiers for the biggest prize in football.
The defeat left a sour taste in the mouths of Indian fans and the AIFF has sought to write to FIFA in order to address the injustice.
“Victory and defeat are part and parcel of the game, we have learned to accept gracefully, although one of the two goals scored against India yesterday night left a few questions unanswered,” AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey said in a statement.
“We have written to FIFA Head of Qualifiers, AFC Head of Referees, and the match commissioner, regarding the grave supervision error that practically cost us a place in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3,” Chaubey continued.
“Given it’s severity, We call upon concerned officials for a thorough investigation. We have urged them to explore the possibilities of sporting compensation to address the injustice and we trust that FIFA and AFC will take necessary steps,” the 47-year-old said.
Indian head coach Igor Stimac did not mince words as asserted that the ball had gone out of play and that the goal was an irregular one.
“Qatar were lucky tonight, especially because they came back from 0-1 with an irregular goal. I can confirm that now because I have seen the replay. The whole ball was out of play and the goal was given,” Stimac said.
“It shouldn’t be happening in today’s football because that goal changed everything in this game. It could’ve happened to Qatar today and I would say the same. I’m not looking for an excuse,” he continued.
“I feel sad that when you have 23 boys working really hard and living the dream, to achieve something, and that dream is killed because we didn’t stop such things from happening,” he beamed.
Stimac also gave his technical evaluation of the game stating that the Blue Tigers were fantastic, while also pointing out the gilt-edged chances that came India’s way in the opening half, which should have been converted.
“They were fantastic. All Indian fans can be proud of their team today. We controlled the game for a major part, with a high press against a good Qatari team. You could say that the chances India had were better than Qatar’s,” he said.
“We should have scored thrice in the first half to kill the game definitely,” he said.
“But there is something which is missing in Indian football, and that’s clinical reactions inside the box,” the 56-year-old said.
Stimac congratulated the Qatari unit on the win and the progress but did not shy away from calling out the injustice.
“It’s kind of an injustice to my boys tonight because we were very close to winning this game and qualifying for the third round, but it didn’t happen. Congratulations to the Qatari team,”
Indian team goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was also named the skipper to lead the team in the game following the retirement of former captain Sunil Chhetri, felt hard done by the decision and stated that it was up to the team to seize things since no one is going to afford any quarter.
“We had the belief, we had the chance to make amends even after everything. The boys gave everything on that pitch last night to make it happen but yet it didn’t,” the captain said.
“Yesterday’s unfortunate result and the incident of the equaliser is a lesson that where we want to go, you don’t just need the hook but the crook as well. No one will hand us anything, we have to take it!”
“For all the people who supported us throughout this campaign even with lows and the highs, thank you, we hear you and we will make you proud,” the custodian added.
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