Injustice: Igor Stimac bemoans ‘dream-killing’ goal

Doha, June 12

India football coach Igor Stimac said “injustice” was done and his team’s “dream was killed” by the blatantly “irregular” goal that allowed Qatar to claw back and clinch the must-win World Cup qualifying match here.

India suffered a 1-2 defeat at the home of the two-time Asian champions to bow out of contention from the third round of qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The visitors were leading 1-0 before Qatar scored the contentious equaliser.

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.

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.”

Since the ball visibly rolled out of play, the game should have been stopped and then resumed with a corner kick as Sandhu was the last player to come in contact with the ball before it went out.

“Qatar were lucky tonight, especially because they came back from 0-1 with an irregular goal. I can confirm that now because I have seen the replay. The whole ball was out of play and the goal was given,” Stimac didn’t mince words as he spoke about it.

“It shouldn’t be happening in today’s football because that goal changed everything in this game. It could’ve happened to Qatar today and I would say the same. I’m not looking for an excuse. I feel sad that when you have 23 boys working really hard and living the dream, to achieve something, and that dream is killed because we didn’t stop such things from happening,” the Croat added.

Down and out?

A few weeks ago, Stimac had promised to leave if he failed in his “mission” to take India into the third round. On Tuesday, a crestfallen Stimac was not so sure.

“That’s something we need to discuss internally in the next few weeks where our futures stand. There is nothing I can tell you now,” the 56-year-old said. “What I can tell you is that it was obvious tonight that India has a good future in football. Many people will say that Qatar played with a reserve team, but our team is not that older than the Qatari team today,” he added. — PTI

AIFF seeks probe into controversial strike

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 today while urging the concerned authorities to “address the injustice”.

The AIFF chief said India have asked for a thorough investigation into the goal that was allowed by South Korean referee Kim Woo-Sung despite the ball clearly going out of play. “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,” he said.