ISL has improved but not refereeing, says East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat

The East Bengal head coach took a dig at referring in ISL 2023-24.

East Bengal are eager to get back to winning ways in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 when they host fellow play-off rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Monday (February 26). The Red & Gold Brigadiers know that they absolutely need to win to stay in the running for that coveted sixth spot after the bitter loss to Jamshedpur FC recently.

East Bengal FC head coach Carles Cuadrat spoke to the media ahead of the vital ISL 2023-24 clash against Chennaiyin FC.

Can East Bengal still reach playoffs?

Despite the recent defeat, Carles Cuadrat is upbeat about his side’s chances of securing a top-6 finish at the end of the league stages. He said: “There are chances. Every point is important! We fight for every single point and determine on our final point tally, we might be in the playoffs. It is possible. It’s in our hands to have a good run of results, we have a never-say-die attitude and we will give our all to get a win against Chennaiyin FC.”

Thoughts on Chennaiyin clash and finishing issues

When asked if he compares his side’s situation to be similar to Chennaiyin FC, who are also competing for a playoff spot, the Spaniard stated: “We don’t have to compare ourselves with Chennaiyin, we’re in different situations. They’ll fight for three points for sure as they also want to get to the playoffs. I have a lot of respect for Owen Coyle and how he always gets results. It’ll be a very difficult game.”

The Spanish gaffer was also asked about his players missing easy chances in matches and replied: “Robert Lewandowski also misses clear chances. And then suddenly he starts scoring in bulks. Harry Kane scored a wonderful goal to win three points for Bayern Munich (vs RB Leipzig) after missing chances in the last match. In Football, this happens. There are situations when the players who have to score goals and are in good dynamics, they can score two-three goals.

“If you remember, Mahesh had that scored for the national team and then scored against Bengaluru and FC Goa. Then you have a difficult streak and it makes it difficult to score. This happens in any club. I’m not worried about that. The important thing is we are creating clear-cut chances. In our last game, we could’ve beaten Jamshedpur and yes it would be easier to get wins in the end if you can create an advantage of two-three goals,” he added.

Criticism of ISL for way they handle referees

Cuadrat also took aim at the Indian Super League organizers and official website for not anaylsing the refereeing errors in the league or brandishing them, as he said: “I expect the other media will freely talk about the refereeing and express the feelings on them now. It’s important to have freedom, there is nothing to hide. The ISL organizing committee have been working hard in 10 years and the football in India is improving. I worked in 2016 and the players that were in the national team – their technique, tactics-wise the India squad had worse players than the ones now in the national team.

“That is an example of how football has improved in the last decade and ISL is very good for Indian football. It is improving in a lot of areas, but not in refereeing. It remains a big issue and this season has been filled with such situations. There is a line and we have crossed it, their bad decisions are affecting the results of a game and we’re in a big trouble,” he also said.

Suggestions to improve ISL refereeing and criticism for Trevor Kettle

Cuadrat claimed that the referees need to be made accountable for their errors and treated with same scrutiny as any badly-performing player or coaches. He also gave some suggestions on the ISL to improve the standards of refereeing, saying: “I have nightmares sometimes and in the nightmares Rahul Kumar (Gupta) is explaining to Crystal John why he’s not giving a foul to Nandha, why he’s playing on and John is replaying to Rahul Kumar why the Rakip foul on Chima Chukwu (in the last match) is a foul. It’s a crazy nightmare.

“But we have to bring consistency in refereeing and have to change. I have three suggestions for the ISL. One is listen to the professionals, listen to the coaches and the players. They say there would be a meeting with coaches, which has never happened. What they end up doing is putting coaches in the stands for complaining. How they manage Indian football is punishing the people involved. I’ve been an ISL and Super Cup champion, and working in this country for many years.

“The ISL need to ensure the professionals give away their ideas, the players have their opinions too. The referees don’t understand the game and don’t see things happening. They have to change the way to manage the games. My solution is to talk with managers and coaches. Another solution is to bring in foreign referees.

“They have another way of managing games and have no pressure as the ones the Indian referees have. The ISL also have to put in a foreign player in the referee committee because they can understand the game. The things is referees can get confused about the counter-attacks and impact of counters, so similar issues happen in La Liga and the Premier League too. The football players know when it’s a really bad foul or not. Former players should be part of the referee committee because they need that help,” he also added.

Cuadrat also took a swipe at the Chief Refereeing Officer in Indian Football, Trevor Kettle, for being a part of the problem and said: “The current head of the referees in India is Trevor Kettle – he was a former referee in English football and you can check out the internet and explain why such mistakes keep happening in Indian football. That referee once whistled for half-time when a goal was to be scored by a player inside the box. That shows a lack of respect for the players. You can’t tell me in that situation that you can’t give one more second because of time running out. You cannot be partial in these circumstances. If an action is going to finish, you can’t cancel out goals like that. If this person is at  the top of the system, what can you say to referees now?”

Praise for Prabhsukhan Gill

Finally, the Spaniard had praise for Prabhsukhan Gill’s performances after keeping nine clean sheets (in all competitions) this season and explained how his philosophy helps him too, saying:  “I’m very happy with him and he knows that. He was with me at Bengaluru and I gave him his ISL debut.

“I have been understanding certain questions about the team’s tactics, I understand that football is open and everyone has their opinions. Some people think that we should try to attack more, which is respectful of course, but if you see my philosophy it’s completely different. Last season the team conceded a lot of goals, so that’s why they finished in the low positions. I’ve tried to work on a good defensive structure and can say until now, we’ve kept a lot of clean sheets and helped the goalkeeper. Gurpreet excelled at Bengaluru under me because I looked after him with the structure.

“My way of understanding the game helps give results. I also understand that supporters or coaches who like 3-3 or 4-4 results, but my team is not like that. The only time we’ve conceded three goals this season was against NorthEast and I was very angry, conceding two is bad enough but three is horrible under me. I want to protect my goalkeeper, keep him calm and not under stress,” he finished with.

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