The All India Football Federation (AIFF) (Asian Film Festival) has lodged a formal complaint with the Match Commissioner to review in detail a controversial goal scored by Qatar in an important World Cup Doha qualifiers match.
According to AIFF sources, even though there was overwhelming evidence that the ball was out of play, the federation called for a “thorough review” of the goal that was confirmed by referee Kim Woo-Sung of South Korea.
“We have lodge a complaint with the match commissioner and are seeking thorough investigation into the entire incident,” said an AIFF official, requesting anonymity.
In this critical match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, India lost 2-1, meaning they failed to progress into the third round. FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 Championship.
Hamid Momeni from Iran is the Match Commissioner responsible for organizing matches and ensuring that all FIFA regulations are followed.
The controversy focused on a moment in the 73rd minute when Abdullah Alahark’s free kick led to Yousef Aymen’s attempted header, that Indian captain and goalkeeper Gup Gurpreet Singh Sandhu initially saved. Nevertheless, as Sandhu fell down on ground, Hussain Hashmi kicked it back into playing field after rolling over boundary line allowing Aimen score.
However this was clearly not observed due to some reasons as stated in law number five which says “a ball is void if it completely crosses goal line or touchline while on ground or air”.
A corner should have been awarded since play had stopped when Sandhu caught up with it before fulltime because he was last one who touched it before going out of bounds. The decision stands despite complaints from Indian team and protestants alike.
