SPORTS

Fransa protest controversial penalty

Source:PTI
January 31, 2006 12:21 IST

Incensed by referee Bikramjit's decision to award a second-half penalty in favour of Mahindra United, Fransa president Mickey Pacheco threatened to pull out his team from the National Football League.

Pacheco categorically demanded that the All India Football Federation should either replay Monday's NFL match or award both teams a point each.

He further said that the AIFF should announce its decision in writing before Fransa's next match against Air-India on February 3, else he would pull out the team from the rest of the NFL.

Mahindra scored twice from penalty kicks, the second coming late in the match, to clinch a 2-1 victory over the Goa side.

The crowd at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda, Goa, turned violent after the match and smashed the windowpanes of Mahindra United and the referees' rooms.

Earlier, chairs and bottles were hurled on the ground after the referee signalled for a penalty in the 86th minute.

Players from the Fransa camp besieged the referee, protesting his decision, and play was held up for at least four minutes.

Security personnel were pressed into action and the match referees and teams were safely escorted to their respective rooms even as commotion prevailed outside the stadium, the crowd extremely disturbed about the untimely goal, which gave Mahindra their third victory in the league.

Source: PTI
© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email