Atletico de Kolkata bearing the brunt of bad refereeing in the ISL

The refereeing standards in the ISL have been quite low

Ok, it was a fair game yesterday between Kerala Blasters and Atletico de Kolkata. The result was 2-1 in favour of the home side. However, the outcome did not seem quite fair to the away team.

Reason? A clear goal was disallowed as the referee ‘thought’ that the ball had not crossed the goal line. Luis Garcia took a shot and the ball hit the underside of the cross bar, bouncing well inside the goal. To the amazement of the Spaniard, the referee ordered the game to be continued. It was the 93rd minute and the equalizer could not have come at a better time. The Kolkatan outfit lost the match and missed the opportunity to reclaim top spot.

Goal-line technology?

The 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup saw the introduction of this novel invention in the game. Consequently, a number of disputes were resolved with ease. The job of the match officials is tough. Amidst such fanfare, to keep the concentration and make correct decisions in split seconds is a difficult task. Goal line technology came in handy to ease the burden on the referees.

In the ISL, there is a limited use of the invisible spray and zero use of goal line technology. If the latter was there, Atletico would not have been denied a point so unfairly. You play a bad game and lose the match, you know where to improve. But when you are consistently better than your opponents and decisions like these take away the outcome, it is heartbreaking.

Luis Garcia denied his third goal of the tournament

After the goal was disallowed, Garcia had a look of bewilderment. It was such a blatantly wrong decision that nothing could be done to help it. The Kolkata players even did not bother to appeal and complain much, such was the state of mind. It was injury time and a sure goal had been scored. The ball had bounced beyond the line and was quite visible from across the stadium.

However, the referee thought otherwise and refused to even reconsider his decision. To Atletico de Kolkata supporters, it must have seemed as if his job was not to conduct the match properly but to deny their team from equalizing. For such clear goals, even the goal line technology seemed a shameful choice. Considering the iconic improvements in the standards of refereeing, a decision like that is a disgrace to the game.

Today, the competitive nature of the game has taken precedence over the spirit of the game. That is why, David James, the Kerala custodian, after the match said that it was not a goal. May be it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the fierce combative spirit or just plain cheating.

An image of the disallowed goal which shows that the ball clearly crossed the line

Atletico de Kolkata bearing the brunt of officials’ misjudgement

As we have been witnessing, an indiscriminate misjudgments have been ruling the ISL when it comes to Indian match officials. Most of the errant decisions, blunders have been committed by the Indian referees. Why is this so? This is because the lack of technology has made the referees oblivious to the grave errors they keep on committing. Be it the domestic leagues or the I-league, there is no use of such modern technology to rectify the decisions of the referees. As a result, they keep at it with these kinds of mistakes.

Lessons are not learnt and such slip-ups are forgotten. This is getting reflected in the ISL as well. Even though there have been infinite instances of bad refereeing in the tournament, no hue and cry will be raised.

What is striking is that, Atletico has been facing the brunt mostly. Be it a disallowed goal, wrong decision on fouls or erratic cards, Kolkata players have seen it all. When the ball ricocheted of the cross bar and bounced inside the goal, it should have sealed a point for the team from Bengal. The reality depicted a different story.

As fans, we can rue and feel dejected at seeing our favourite teams miss out in this fashion. At the most may be write articles, and express our solidarity with the million other Atletico de Kolkata fans (which I am doing right now). Beyond that, the authorities need to take a note of such mishaps and take steps to rectify such grave mistakes. The point is simple, the refereeing standards need to improve.

Hoping to see better results next time.