CHENNAI : The quality of refereeing in the Indian Super League has long been the subject of heated debates. On Saturday, it was the turn of Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory to wade into it. His side’s 0-3 drubbing against FC Goa in their opening match saw an incident where referee Pranjal Banerjee failed to give a penalty when defender Seriton Fernandes brought down Chennaiyin forward Dragos Firtulescu in the box. Speaking at the pre-match press conference before Chennaiyin’s game against FC Mumbai City, Gregory said that the decision was the worst he’d seen in his career. “It was the clearest penalty that I have ever seen in 50 years of football,” he said.
“It was unbelievable, the lack of a decision by both the referee and the linesman, it was a clear-cut penalty. Having watched it again after the match, I was raging. Fortunately, it was after the post-match press conference, so I couldn’t say anything publically. It was an incredible decision, or lack of a decision. For me, if that referee made that kind of mistake in Europe, you’d never see him again in the top league.
He’d be refereeing in the fifth division or a league where you’d never hear of him again. But in India, he’d probably be refereeing again this weekend. Nothing gets said, nothing gets done. The standard certainly needs to improve.”
Gregory said that while the league had improved over the years, the quality of refereeing had not. “The league has improved in so many ways. But I think, unfortunately, the quality of refereeing hasn’t improved at all. See the game against ATK last night, the fifth goal was a clear handball. I think there were a couple of offsides as well. They get mentioned on television and then they just get brushed under the carpet..”