ISL 2019-20, Kerala Blasters vs ATK: 3 reasons why the Blasters won

#1 Poor refereeing all through the encounter

There were quite a few controversial decisions all through the match

As we embark on the sixth season of the ISL, we have seen an emergence of new sides, new players, new staff members, or even new rules from season to season. However, what has remained the same over the years has been the poor standard of refereeing that continues to bewilder both the fans and the players.

The refereeing in the first match of the new season continued from the abyss of low standards that we left off in the last season. When Micheal Soosairaj was caught on the attack inside the penalty box of the Blasters half, it never looked more obvious, even on television, that ATK deserved a kick from the penalty spot.

However, referee Ramaswamy Srikrishna, standing just a few meters away couldn’t find it convincing enough to be given a penalty and let the play go on, which ultimately resulted in Blasters equalising.

A few minutes later, David Williams’ goal was called offside while the replays showed a different story. The forward had beaten the last line of defense to be completely unmarked for a shot to the goal, which eventually ended at the back of the net. Few more instances happened where the decisions were questionable to a considerable degree. But overall, two clear penalties and one wrongly called offside were enough to separate Blasters' 3 points to ATK’s 0.

It’s absolutely appalling to see such a lower standard of refereeing in a league which is trying to build its brand on the premise of quality football. At the present it is anything but that.