WATCH: Referee’s bizarre mistake potentially costs Indian football team a shot at the 2026 World Cup

India's road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended with a 2-1 loss to Qatar. However, the game was clouded with controversy and poor officiating!

WATCH: Referee’s bizarre mistake potentially costs Indian football team a shot at the 2026 World Cup

Qatar vs India was marred by a controversial goal scored by the hosts in which the ball appeared to go out of play (Via X/@IndianFootball & TheKhelIndia)

Refereeing decisions often have the power to decide the course of matches. While officials do play a significant role in the way a match is played, their errors often end up with costly repercussions. A similar situation unfolded in the 2026 World Cup qualifier match between India and Qatar. A poorly officiated decision costed India a potential spot at the upcoming World Cup.

India lost 2-1 to the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts, but owe the same to a goal which should not have stood as per the rules of the game. At the end of a journey that started over seven months ago, Qatar sealed the win with a goal from Ahmed Al-Rawi even though the controversial equalizer from Yousef Aymen stole all the headlines. Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the opener for India, after which Qatar got back into the game through Aymen.

YouTube video

The ball clearly went out of play in the build-up to Qatar’s equalizer. Even as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and his defenders stood frozen to the spot, Al-Hussain quickly pulled the ball back into play and passed it to an unmarked Aymen who scored with relative ease.

FS Video
https://twitter.com/TheKhelIndia/status/1800599006604935298

Despite an immediate reaction and protests from the Indian players, the match official awarded a goal for the hosts. Several fans on social media have expressed their outrage at the poor decision.

Kuwait and Qatar book their spot over India after costly error snatches World Cup spot from The Blue Tigers

It will be at least another six years until India will play in the FIFA World Cup. The second round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers unfolded in the most controversial of ways after the referee awarded a goal for the hosts which should not have stood. Following the result, India ended their qualification campaign with a 2-1 loss to Qatar.

The Blue Tigers
The Blue Tigers accumulated just 5 points from 6 group stage matches (Via X/@IndianFootball)

Despite India’s best efforts, Kuwait overtook The Blue Tigers on the final matchday with a narrow 1-0 win over Afghanistan. While India ended their group-stage campaign with 5 points from 6 games, Kuwait managed to accumulate two more than their rivals. Several fans have come forward to protest against and criticize the officiating.

A fan commented that this was blatant corruption from FIFA and Qatar, in an effort to help last edition’s hosts qualify for the competition. Another added that decisions like these are shameful for the sport in Asia as a whole. Many called for VAR to be installed in Asia so as to avoid incidents like these in the future.

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