I-League 3: FC Agniputhra lose after controversial red card; request re-match

Bengaluru: FC Agniputhra lost their final Group D match by a 0-2 margin to Royal Rangers following what appeared to be a poor refereeing decision which impacted the outcome the contest in the I-League 3 at the Dravid-Padukone CSE Arena here on Tuesday.

A controversial red card just before half time to Senthamil S caused Agniputhra severe damage as the disadvantage saw them go down to second-half goals by Ashutosh Thapliyal (52nd minute) and Ankit (90+1st).

Agniputhra dropped to second spot following the defeat while Baghpath FC topped the group with a 9-0 victory over New Friends Club and progressed to the final phase of the league.

The Bengaluru-based club, which finished with seven points in four matches, will now have to await the completion of the rest of the groups on Wednesday and hope to be in the top two from among the four group runners-up to reach the next stage.

The red card came in the added time of the first half, when match referee Junaid Tanji made a controversial call by showing a red card to the last-match goal-scorer Senthamil for allegedly elbowing Nitesh Chikkara. 

However, the replays indicated that Senthamil never raised his elbow high enough to contact Chikkara. 

Given the impact of the refereeing decision, Agniputhra club officials have spoken to the match commissioner and have filed a complaint with the organisers All India Football Federation (AIFF) — along with the video replay of the incident — against the red card with a request to replay the match, confirmed a source.

Result: FCA: 0 lt to RRFC: 2 (Ashutosh 52nd, Ankit 90+1st).