FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez slams AIFF, calls regime a "dictatorship"

Manolo Marquez has been a head coach in ISL for almost six years.

Coming into the clash against Jamshedpur FC at the Furnace on the back of three consecutive wins in the Indian Super League 2025-26, FC Goa and head coach Manolo Marquez were in a confident frame of mind. However, the hosts who remain unbeaten at home this season extended their impressive run with yet another victory over the Gaurs.

Even before kick-off, FC Goa suffered a major setback as Dejan Drazic was suspended after accumulating four yellow cards. This left them with just one available foreign player against a Jamshedpur side that had five at their disposal. Despite this disparity, Manolo Marquez’s side delivered a commendable performance, even though they eventually went down 2-0 to the Red Miners.

After a goalless opening 60 minutes, Mohammed Sanan and Madih Talal found the net in the final quarter of the match to seal all three points for Owen Coyle’s team.

Post-match, while addressing the defeat, Manolo Marquez was particularly critical of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), accusing them of acting like a “dictator” for allegedly cutting portions of his pre-match press conference audio.

“Dictatorship” – Manolo Marquez takes dig at AIFF Leadership

Even before taking questions from the media, the Spanish coach took a dig at the AIFF, expressing hope that his post-match comments would not be edited when shared.

From his statements, it appears that his earlier criticisms regarding the organisation and scheduling of the league made during the pre-match press conference ahead of the Jamshedpur fixture were omitted, something he strongly opposed and described as unfair.

The AIFF’s official preview release ahead of the match further reinforced his allegations, as it only included the positive remarks from the head coach, with no mention of his criticisms about how the league is being run.

“I hope that you don’t cut my press conference. I am saying that because you cut my press conference before the game. When I spoke about the disaster of Indian football, of the competition, and you cut. This, I hope that you don’t cut. Because this is a dictator. When you cut what I say, it’s like a dictator. And this is what happens in Indian football,”, blasted Manolo Marquez.

What did Manolo Marquez actually say in the pre-match PC?

Manolo’s furious reaction would naturally raise questions about what exactly the head coach said about the AIFF ahead of the game, and why such remarks may have been edited out.

In his pre-match press conference before the clash against Jamshedpur FC, Manolo Marquez pointed out the lack of clarity in the scheduling of games, highlighting how some teams have already played most of their matches while others still have four or five games in hand.

The Spanish tactician insisted that this leads to an unfair situation for teams involved in the title race, as those with games in hand hold a clear advantage over sides that have already played the bulk of their fixtures.

“When there are some teams with fewer games (played) in this disaster of competition, then it’s obvious that we need to win. I say disaster because when we play next week, we will have one more game, and there are teams with three or four games pending, and it’s not normal. The team that wins tomorrow will be top of the table, but it won’t be the real top of the table. When you arrive at the final games, you cannot allow this,”, added Manolo Marquez.

Manolo Marquez on the poor refereeing:

On the field, there was also a contentious moment in the first half when Nemil was through on goal in a one-on-one situation against Albino Gomes. Pratik brought him down right at the edge of the box in what looked like a potential DOGSO (Denying an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity) challenge.

Manolo Marquez felt that Pratik should have been sent off, insisting that such a decision could have significantly altered the outcome of the match.

“It’s a game that is decided from the first action. It’s a very clear red card. I didn’t see one more clear red card than this in my life. It was very good because the fourth official said it’s a red card; I will tell the referee now. And then suddenly, the referee showed a yellow card. And then they said that our player is going to the left, he’s not going to the goal. If someone can tell me if there is one more clear chance than this to show a red card, please tell me.”

“The referee didn’t allow us to pass the half line. We are the team with the fewest yellow cards in the championship. And I think that today we had five or six yellow cards. Not because I lost today, I missed Trevor Kettle, the boss of the referees, because the level of the current referees is such that they never play football. And then it’s very difficult to improve,” commented Manolo Marquez

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