The refereeing in the Indian Super League has often come under severe criticism from players, coaching staff and fans alike. Calls for VAR have gone unanswered by the AIFF so far. Things took an unexpected turn last season when Kerala Blasters staged a walkout in the playoff against Bengaluru FC in protest against a controversial goal off a free-kick, which the referee allowed to stand.
Kerala Blasters were once again embroiled in a refereeing controversy when, last night, they lost 1-2 to Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA). It was an intense encounter between the two teams, which saw Mumbai draw the first blood in the added time in first half through Jorge Pereyra Diaz, albeit off a blunder from Kerala goalkeeper Sachin Suresh. Blasters equalised against the run of play in the second half, with Danish Farooq heading in a Sandeep Singh cross.
A miscommunication between Suresh and defender Pritam Kotal, and alertness from Lalengmawia Ralte, saw the latter heading in a loose ball into the net to give Mumbai the lead in the 66th minute. With Kerala Blasters going all out for the equaliser and Mumbai City playing for the final whistle, things started heating up on the pitch. It started with substitutes Sandeep Singh of KBFC and Gurkirat Singh of Mumbai engaing in an altercation, leading to yellow cards for both. Soon, a foul on Kerala's Kwame Peprah, followed by an elbow on Rahul K.P. led to defender Milos Drincic shoulder-charging Mehtab Singh. It soon turned into a free-for-all with Yoell Van Nieff of Mumbai and Prabir Das of Kerala getting particularly aggressive. The referee seemed to have lost control of proceedings as Rostyn John Griffiths was seen holding Das in what can be best described as a “choke”.
Don’t know why everyone is getting so worked up! This guy was going round trying to fight everyone and I thought he might just need a cuddle https://t.co/B1Z3efUGmv
— Rostyn Griffiths (@rostyn8) October 8, 2023
While Van Nieff and Drincic were rightfully shown red cards and Das a yellow, Griffiths, surprisingly, was let off, prompting angry protests for Kerala players and the bench. There were dramatic scenes all over, with Das crying and his teammates consoling him. He later revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that his mother was abused and that's why he became emotional.
— Prabir Das (@ImPrabirDas) October 8, 2023
The Kerala Blasters fans, meanwhile, took to X to vent their anger and frustration at the match officials and the Mumbai City players, whom they accused of time wasting.
KBFC Sporting Director Karolis Skinkys took to X to post “Time wasting champions”, apparently referring to the Mumbai City team.
It remains to be seen if the AIFF will take any action against Griffiths for the incident caught on camera. Earlier in the tournament, Kerala Blasters had lodged an official complaint with the AIFF against Bengaluru FC's Ryan Williams over an incident of alleged racism in the ISL opener in Kochi.
