SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2024: Bangladesh Fans Accused Of Throwing Stones And Bottles At India U19 Team

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SAFF U-19 Women's Championship Final in Dhaka saw an ugly and controversial end as local Bangaldesh fans were accused of stone and bottle pelting at the India U19 football team. Confusion among match officials led to the contentious decision to declare joint winners for the title.

The dramatic incident transpired after no winner could be decided in the penalty shootout that ended 11-11 after the match ended 1-1 at full time. The referee informed the team that the result would be declared via toss.

India were declared the winners after the toss went their way but was followed by a protest by the Bangladesh team, urging for the resumption of the penalty shootout to decide the winner until a team misses in the sudden death.

The decision didn't sit down well with the local fans present at the venue, who threw stones and bottles on the pitch aimed at the Indian team, who were busy celebrating their win on the pitch. They soon left the pitch but were not allowed to leave the stadium as the match commissioner and referees were confused about what to do.

The referee finally declared both teams the joint winners after the Match Commissioner said that toss to declare the winner wasn't mentioned in the rule book for the tournament. The trophy was finally shared after two hours of waiting.

All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) Acting Secretary General Satyanarayan released his statement on the matter saying that AIFF accepted the request of the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship organisers for joint winners due to the safety concerns of the fans, owing to the behaviour of the local fans.

"India, despite being declared winners after the spin of the coin, decided to accept the officials request for sharing the trophy as the situation was simmering and a section of the home fans was found indulging in creating disturbances," Satyanarayan said. "Since the security of the players and other team officials is our utmost priority, the AIFF decided to agree to the request of the organisers."