Heartbreaking, cruel, yet so typical

India's FIFA World Cup Qualifier exit on Tuesday heralded an outpouring of national grief as the media leapt at the chance to wallow in the cruelty of a script all too familiar to a country that seemingly excels in valiant defeat.

"There was bias certainly. Otherwise, there is no way this can be justified. What were the referees thinking? And still no noise about it. I can't believe this. If you haven't witnessed daylight robbery before, only watch the highlights on repeat," said a frustrated Shayon Pal, puffing his cheeks out in anguish and ruffling his hair, in unusual disorder. Father Debayan, who nodded in affirmation, opined, "If this is the way it is, we will never be able to outsmart these teams. Bribes and corruption ruin everything, and sadly, it is more common in sports than we can imagine."

Captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu confronting match officials (Pic: Screengrab)

Tuesday's World Cup qualifier served as a poignant portrayal of the challenges lower-ranked teams face when pitted against established soccer giants in significant tournaments. The game underscored the inherent imbalance in the scales of fairness, evident on the grandest stage of all. The only shortcoming that India faced against Qatar is that they had to win outright, because rarely do they receive game-changing calls in their favour and often are victims of these calls when traditional powers struggle. Tuesday was no different.

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The setback in Doha on Tuesday shattered India's hopes of progressing to the third round of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Despite scoring in the first half and appearing on track for a significant footballing milestone, India's momentum was thwarted when Youssef Ayman equalised in the 73rd minute. The goal sparked considerable controversy, with certain television replays suggesting that the ball had crossed the touchline just before the play.

India's players, some of whom had halted play under the belief that the ball had exited the field, vehemently protested. However, with VAR technology not deployed, the goal was upheld. Asian champions Qatar, having already secured qualification for the next round, clinched the winning goal five minutes before the final whistle, sealing India's fate.

"This is a serious supervision error on the part of the referee and other match officials. We are surprised that it took place in a crucial fixture like the Qualifier. We seek intervention from both FIFA and AFC regarding the matter, as it has practically cost us a place in Round 3 of the Qualifiers. There are certain rules when you step onto a pitch, be it any sport, if those are not followed, how do you expect the best teams to play the World Cup?" an AIFF official, who requested anonymity, told Mid-Day on Wednesday.

India coach Igor Stimac did not mince his words while denouncing what he labelled an "irregular" goal in India's 2-1 defeat. "It shouldn't occur," he lamented. "Qatar were lucky tonight, especially because they came back from 0-1 with an irregular goal," the former Croatia international defender Stimac told reporters.

"I can confirm that now because I have seen the replay. The whole ball was over the line and the goal was given. It shouldn't be happening in today's football because that goal changed everything in this game. As an organisation, FIFA has enough power and resources, at least in the crucial games and the World Cup qualifiers, to use VAR. It's kind of an injustice to my boys tonight because we were very close to winning this game and qualifying for the third round, but it didn't happen," he said.