India vs Malaysia Merdeka Cup 2023: How Refereeing howlers cost Blue Tigers?

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India got defeated at the hands of Malaysia in the semifinal of the Merdeka Cup 2023 on Friday. The Blue Tigers were defeated 2-4 by Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium and now are eliminated from the tournament.

It was a performance of two halves for Indian team. Their attacking prowess was excellent, but defensively, they were poor and struggled to cope up with the Malaysian attack.

There were penalties which were given away, and the Indian team couldn't deal with the high press of the Malaysian attackers and were guilty of giving the ball away at crucial positions and got punished for that.

But despite that, there were certain other things which caused the Indian team a big time. There are refereeing howlers throughout the game, which was at the expense of the Indian team and all those times, the Blue Tigers were affected by some abysmal and baffling decisions from the referee.

A clear India goal not given

The Indian football team was not given a clear goal in the 2nd half. India were trailing 2-3 at that time and Lallianzuala Chhangte netted the ball past the Malaysia keeper. The ball clearly went over the line but the referee didn't give the goal.

The Indian players were baffled and protested, but there was nothing doing as the referee made his decision, which was obviously a wrong one. And moments after India conceded the 4th goal and Malaysia were out of sight. At that moment, the poor decision of the referee cost Blue Tigers massively.

India denied a penalty

Then moments after, a massive penalty claim was waved away by the referee. The ball clearly touched one of the Malaysia defenders' hand, but again the decision was not given in India's favour. Had the penalty been given, the Blue Tigers would have had a chance to launch a comeback.

After a few minutes, an Indian player was sandwiched by two Malaysian defenders in the box. But the referee said No to the penalty claims yet again.

The Indian team will be disappointed with the decisions, but they will have to sort out the defence. Yes, the offical's decisions cost them and were decisive in the outcome of the result, but in the first half, the defenders were at sea and couldn't deal with the pacey attackers of the home side.