ISL 2017/18: Did FC Pune City forward Emiliano Alfaro deserve a red card for headbutting the referee?

What’s the story?

The current season of ISL which has already been embroiled in controversies, witnessed something which shouldn’t happen on a football pitch. FC Pune City forward Emiliano Alfaro appeared to head butt the referee after the latter rightly didn’t award a penalty to the Stallions in the opening minutes of their match against Chennaiyin FC.

In case you didn’t know...

In the ongoing season, referees have faced a lot of flak for their wrong decision and coaches have got suspended for raising their voice against the referring standards. However, in this case, the referee was correct to not adhere to the penalty claims of the FC Pune City players.

The heart of the matter

In the eighth minute of the game Diego Carlos got at the end of a through ball and just as he was about to take a shot, Chennaiyin goalkeeper Karanjit Singh came off the line and made a sliding clearance to save the day for the home side. The rebound fell to Ashique Kuruniyan who failed to put it at the back of the net as his shot was blocked by a defender.

However, as soon as Karanjit made the clearance, Alfaro came running to the referee, asking for a penalty. While the other Pune players also looked agitated, frustration seemed to have gotten the better of the Uruguayan as he came dangerously close to the referee and appeared to have a slight contact with his head.

The referee just showed him a yellow card but it easily could have been a red. Alfaro was seen clutching his forehead giving an impression that he was hurt during the whole process.

What’s next?

Later on in the game, when FC Pune City’s Adil Khan conceded a penalty, a few of the Pune players were seen pushing and shoving the referee but they must consider themselves lucky as the referee didn’t brandish a card.

Author’s take

These kind of behaviour on the field of play is strictly prohibited and the referee had full authority to send off a few Pune players.