ISL 2023-24: East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat slams poor refereeing, talks solution for Indian football ahead of FC Goa clash

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East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat has ripped into unprofessionalism in Indian football and the ongoing refereeing issues ahead of their match against FC Goa in the ISL.

East Bengal are set to play FC Goa in Bhubaneshwar on Saturday in the ISL. The match was moved to the Odisha capital due to administration issues in Kolkata. Due to the Durga Puja, the security wouldn't have been adequate and thus the Kolkata giants will face the Gaurs in neutral territory.

And in the pre-match press conference, the East Bengal coach says they had to accept playing in Bhubaneshwar because the other offer was to play three matches in six days.

"It was my decision to play in Bhubaneshwar because they offered us to play three games in six days in between Mumbai and Odisha. So, if a player is injured in the first game, he is out for at least three more matches, which is not the solution. Sorry to the fans, we thought maybe Siliguri was an option, but it was not possible because of the Puja," Cuadrat said on Thursday.

He also ripped into the refereeing in the Bengaluru FC match. East Bengal were denied a penalty claim and Bengaluru FC was awarded one in the same match. The East Bengal coach believes both those decisions went against the Kolkata club.

"There were a lot of game-changing decisions which went against us. The referees made mistakes and three decisions went against us. I think East Bengal deserve a lot of respect and at the moment it is not happening," Cuadrat blasted.

MyKhel asked the East Bengal coach if the introduction of VAR will change the scenario, and the Spanish coach believes it will help.

"I feel sorry to say that the referee situation is not good. I have been in Indian football since 2016 and it's difficult. There are mistakes happening in lot of games and of course VAR can help. Because in penalty situations, VAR can bring about right decision," the Spaniard added.

Cuadrat also pointed out there were many instances apart from the penalty which went against East Bengal, and believes the referees will have to look into that as well.