AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey wants probe into controversial Qatar goal against India in World Cup qualifier

All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey on Wednesday called for a probe into Qatar’s controversial goal against India in a World Cup 2026 Qualifier match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

“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. Given its severity, We call upon concerned officials for a thorough investigation. We have urged them to explore the possibilities of sporting compensation to address the injustice and we trust that FIFA and AFC will take necessary steps,” he added.

We’ll leave it here!#INDQAT #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/5KhtyOfrvS

— FanCode (@FanCode) June 11, 2024

The controversial goal in question came in the 73rd minute of the match in which India were leading 1-0 at the time. Abdullah Alahrak’s free-kick saw Yousef Ayem attempt a header, which was saved by India skipper and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

As Gurpreet lay on the ground seeing the ball roll over the line, Hashmi Hussein kicked it into play with Aymen slotting it into the net. South Korean referee Kim Woo-Sung would turn a deaf ear to the Indian players protests, who had stopped playing at the time of the goal thinking it would result in a corner, and allowed the goal. India would ultimately lose the match 2-1 ending their quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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.” India coach Igor Stimac later expressed his dismay by stating that the “irregular” goal killed his team’s dream.

Sandhu called it an “unfortunate result” demonstrated that “no one will hand us anything, we have to take it!”

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