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Indian Super League franchise NorthEast United FC have send out a press release to complain about referee decisions against them in the ISL – Season 4.
In the closing minutes of the match on Saturday, February 17 between Northeast United FC and the Kerala Blasters FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Sarusajai, Guwahati, NorthEast United FC head coach Avram Grant was issued an order to leave the Technical Area following an attempt by Mr Grant to separate the opposing players and to continue with the remainder of the match.
Though Northeast United FC fully supports the Indian Super league, its organisers and various stakeholders, the Club does not support the treatment meted out to its players and officials by the referees under the All India Football Federation. The club would like to put on record that NorthEast United FC has been one of the biggest sufferers due to adverse decisions by the referees.
Northeast United FC would like to point out to the All India Football Federation about certain points that they have noted with regards to the specific incidents that needs a thorough probing
– Referee Santosh Kumar had been assigned for back to back matches of NEUFC (February 10, 2018 vs Jamshedpur FC; and February 14, 2018 vs Delhi Dynamos FC)
– Several video replays have confirmed and suggested that the same referee Mr. Santosh Kumar denied a valid foul / penalty on their player Marcinho (vs Delhi Dynamos FC on February 14, 2018), which later resulted in a long term injury of the player due a strong challenge on him by the opponent.
– In the dying minutes of the match on February 17, 2018, the NorthEast United FC head coach Avram Grant was suspended from the match despite being very respectful with the referee and attempting to help the referee by separating the players and aiding in continuing with the match. Mr Grant was sent off and man handled by the fourth official without any clear communication on the reason for sending him off.
In light of these above observations, while the NorthEast United FC head coach Avram Grant serves his suspension by sitting out of the next match against Mumbai City FC, NorthEast United FC and Avram Grant would like to highlight to the All India Football Federation to conduct a thorough feedback procedure to analyze the performance of the referees and their need to improve further to help the league overall. Teams like Northeast United may be out of contention for the playoff berth but the team is playing for the pride and the region they represent and such adverse decisions from the referees have a direct impact in killing the spirit of their game.
