Owen Coyle blasts referees after Chennaiyin FC draw 2-2 with Mohammedan SC

Mohammedan SC scored a late equalizer after the referee gave a penalty in their favour.

It looked like Chennaiyin FC had all three points in the bag against Mohammedan SC last night. The Marina Machans had a 2-0 lead until the 90 minutes courtesy of goals from Laldinpuia and Lukas Brambilla.

However, the home side staged a late comeback courtesy of Manvir Singh. The 23-year-old scored Mohammedan’s first goal in the 90+4th minute before winning a late penalty that Lalremsanga Fanai converted to win a point for the Black Panthers.

Owing to the draw, Chennaiyin FC’s hopes of making it to the playoffs of the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) have taken a massive hit. With just eight games to go, Owen Coyle’s side is tenth in the league and will have to script a fairytale run to have a chance.

What did Owen Coyle say about the referees after the game?

After the game, Owen Coyle was particularly not happy with the referee’s decision to award the second penalty to Mohammedan SC in the dying minutes. The Chennaiyin FC manager also criticised the errors that the referees have made this season.

Talking in the post game presentation, Owen Coyle said, “I have been all over the world, in the highest leagues. You know here it’s been a huge thing, not from me but from the fans. This is regarding some of the decisions made by referees who are deciding games. This has to be taken away.”

“The sooner we get VAR, the better, trust me. Because at least then we’ll get definitive things, offsides, the lines are there so they can’t get it wrong. There was a reason in season 6 (Owen Coyle’s first season in India) that we brought in foreign referees and they refereed very very well.”

The Chennaiyin FC manager concluded his statement by saying, “I would love Indian referees to get better but are we seeing that? Well, that is a question for everybody to ask.”

Owen Coyle suspended for the game against Mohun Bagan!

To make things worse for Chennaiyin FC, Owen Coyle will be suspended for their game against Mohun Bagan next week. The coach got his second yellow card of the season in the game against Mohammedan SC.

The CFC manager was not happy about this as well. He said that the ISL was the only league in the world that suspends a coach for two yellow cards. In comparison, the English Premier League only suspends a coach after they get three yellow cards or a red card.

Was Mohammedan SC’s late penalty the correct decision?

PC Laldinpuia did make contact and foul Manvir Singh inside the box, resulting in a penalty. However, replays do show that Manvir might have been slightly offside when the pass was played into him before the incident. While it would not have been easy for the referee to catch, VAR could have flagged the play offside.

Chennaiyin FC have faced dubious referee calls in back-to-back games

Chennaiyin had also drawn 2-2 against Odisha FC last week. However, OFC’s first goal in the game should have been flagged as Dorielton was clearly offside before bundling the ball into the net.

Quite a few ISL games have seen similar refereeing errors that have eventually cost one of the team’s crucial points. Hence, it’s not just the Marina Machans that have had to bear the brunt. Is VAR the need of the hour to improve the refereeing standards in the ISL? Let us know your thoughts…

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