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It was on Thursday that FC Pune City coach Ranko Popovic was handed a four-game suspension for his comments on the referees after his side's 2-0 win over FC Goa on Saturday, prompting a strong debate over the quality of refereeing in the ISL.
The same day, two highly questionable calls were made by the match officials when Jamshedpur FC took on Chennaiyin FC at home, both in a matter of a few minutes. Towards the end of the first half, the side from Chennai was awarded a penalty that left the Jamshedpur defenders completely stunned and soon enough, it was the Super Machans defence that was furious after the home side were given a spot-kick.
In the 40th minute, the referee pointed to the spot after Mehtab Hossain, who was on the ground after a diving header, was adjudged to have handled the ball as it fell to him. It was certainly a questionable call, given the referee's position at the time of the incident and the former Kerala Blasters' midfielder having no intention to play the ball with his hand on purpose.
Additionally, had the referee given the penalty for an intentional handball, a second booking was in order for Hossain, which also did not come. Watch the incident here:
Jeje Lalpekhlua stepped up to take the kick and coolly slotted the ball home, sending Subrata Pal the wrong way.
In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, the home team were given a spot-kick after Henrique Sereno was adjudged to have fouled Bikash Jairu just inside the box, with the Indian making the most of the chance and falling theatrically to the ground.
Even the linesman, who had a direct view of the incident, did not raise his flag for the foul but the referee pointed to the spot, despite not being in the best position to take a good view of the 'foul'.
The match ended 1-0 in favour of the away team as Kerven Belfort's effort was saved excellently by Karanjit Singh, with neither side being unable to add to the scoreline in the second half.
In the end though, it will once again be the officials who will be under the scanner, only increasing the growing dissatisfaction among the fans.
