New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has sought an investigation into the controversial goal awarded to Qatar in their crucial World Cup qualifying match in Doha, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said on Wednesday while urging the concerned authorities to "address the injustice".
The AIFF chief stated that the Indian board have requested a thorough investigation regarding the goal which was accepted by South Korean referee Kim Woo-Sung despite the ball clearly going out of play during the must-win match that the India lost 1-2 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday. The goal sparked widespread outrage as it deprived the Indians of what would have been their maiden entry into the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the 2026 edition.
"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," 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. 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," he added.
Iran's Hamed Momeni was the match commissioner for the game. The role requires him to supervise the organisation of the match and ensure that FIFA regulations are adhered to during the game. In the 73rd minute, Abdullah Alahrak's free-kick saw Yousef Ayem attempt a header, which was saved by India skipper and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. But as the custodian lay on the ground seeing the ball roll over the line, Hashmi Hussein kicked it into play with Aymen slotting it into the net.
The ball clearly went out of play, so the game should have been stopped and then resumed with a corner kick. Sandhu was the last player to touch the ball before it went out, so the goal should not have been awarded to Qatar. Despite the Indian players' protests, the referee upheld his decision.
According to FIFA rules, "the ball is out of play if it is wholly passed over the goal line or touchline on the ground or in the air." India coach Igor Stimac later expressed his dismay by stating that the "irregular" goal killed his team's dream.
Sandhu called it an "unfortunate result" demonstrated that "no one will hand us anything, we have to take it!"
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