A day after SC East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler said that he feels his side is playing against 12 men in every game, the club lodged a complaint with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) against the standards of refereeing in the ongoing seventh season of Indian Super League (ISL).
East Bengal lost their first three matches but managed to sneak out a point after a draw against Jamshedpur FC on Thursday. The side is currently at the bottom of the points table. Eugeneson Lyngdoh had received his marching orders from the referee for a second yellow, following a rash tackle on Alexandre Lima on Thursday.
"We have suffered in the last three matches so after yesterday's match we have shared our feedback with AIFF. Hopefully, it will be taken into consideration to enhance the quality of referee to maintain the spirit of the game during the remainder of the tournament," Goal.com quoted a source in the known of developments as saying.
"This is a process that is available to every club where they can share feedback about the officials with the federation," the source added.
After Thursday's game, coach Flower said that no decisions were going their way and it felt East Bengal were playing against 12 men rather than 11.
"We are always trying to use all the players at our disposal. We never had a pre-season, we are massively behind everyone in terms of being ready. It has been tough for our players. We feel we are playing against 12 men in every single game. It worked well for us and we defended really well," Fowler said in the post-match press conference on Thursday.
Last week, Fowler had reiterated his stand and asked for the inclusion of VAR in ISL.
"I am going to say yes. Referees might need a bit of help, I know they are doing a tough job," he had said.
East Bengal will next lock horns with Hyderabad FC on December 15.
( With inputs from ANI )
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