SAFF Championship: India Assistant Coach Mahesh Gawli Slams Refereeing After Igor Stimac Red Card

India assistant coach Mahesh Gawli on Tuesday lambasted the refereeing after several rancorous moments marked the 1-1 draw between India and Kuwait in the SAFF Championship.

The match saw the officials flashing red cards three times as India head coach Igor Stimac, India player Rahim Ali and Kuwait’s Al Qallaf were sent off between 81st and 85th minutes of the proceedings.

In fact, it was Stimac’s second red card in three matches as he had received a similar treatment in the game against Pakistan last week.

“The refereeing was poor and the SAFF has to think about the quality of the officials or the tournament will suffer. Our coach (Stimac) was faultless and the referee could not control the match. Our team was brilliant and Kuwait was very rough,” said Gawli in the post-match press conference.

Tempers also flared after Stimac’s sending off after Sahal Abdul Samad was fouled in the Kuwait half and the West Asians prevented a quick restart, resulting in a scuffle, after which Hamad Al-Qallaf and Rahim Ali were shown red.

Gawli said even the yellow card that Stimac received before he was getting the marching orders was totally unnecessary.

“Our coach was just having a conversation with the player and the referee, after talking with the line officials, approached him (Stimac) and showed the card. They were targeting him,” said a visibly upset Gawli.

After the match, the referee had to escorted out ofthe stadium by the police.

The red card meant that Stimac will not be able to stand on the touchline when India face Lebanon in the semifinals on July 1.

It was to be a cruel end to India’s seven-match clean-sheet run. Abdullah Al-Bloushi’s harmless-looking cross from the right deflected into the Indian net as Anwar Ali tried to hook it clear.

Gawli was wholesome in his praise for the youngster.

“Anwar was brilliant and was very confident. He had an excellent game,” said Gawli, who also praised captain Sunil Chhetri for scoring a marvellous goal in the first half to put India ahead.

While scenes on the pitch were unfortunate, the Kanteerava crowd made sure to keep the Blue Tigers’ heads high, chanting the loudest they had the entire night to demonstrate how proud they were of their team which fought until the end, but were unlucky not to get it.

(With inputs from Agencies)