Backlash on social media erupted after the referee awarded Qatar’s equaliser against India in the second half despite the ball going out of play. 

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has filed an official complaint and demanded an investigation into the contentious goal granted to Qatar during their crucial World Cup qualifying match in Doha on Tuesday.

“The defeat against Qatar in the FIFA 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 concluding match on Tuesday night was a huge disappointment for the entire Indian football fraternity,” a statement by the AIFF said.

“While victory and defeat are a part and parcel of the game, and we have learned to accept it gracefully, one of the two goals scored against India yesterday night left a few questions unanswered,” the organisation went on to say. 

South Korean referee Kim Woo-Sung allowed the goal to stand despite the ball clearly going out of play. 

The goal sparked widespread outrage as it deprived the Indians of what would have been their maiden entry into the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the 2026 edition.

“We have lodged a complaint with the match commissioner [Iran’s Hamad Momeni] and are seeking a thorough investigation into the whole thing,” said an AIFF official.

Ahmed Al-Rawi scored the winning goal for Qatar, securing a 2-1 victory over India at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Football heartbreak

On course to a historic third-round spot in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Lallianzuala Chhangte gave India the lead in the 37th minute, hoping for his squad to become the second team to qualify from Group A.

Yet that would all change in the 73rd minute when Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Ahrak’s free-kick saw Yousef Aymen attempt a header that was initially saved by India’s goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. 

As Sandhu lay on the ground, Qatar’s Al-Hashmi Al-Hussain kicked it back into play, before Aymen slotted the ball into the net.

Woo-Sung awarded the goal to Qatar despite Sandhu and several Indian footballers protesting vehemently that the ball went over the line. 

With no VAR, the goal was allowed to stand.

Critics of the match voiced that since the ball had visibly rolled out of play, the game should have stopped and then resumed with a corner kick, as Sandhu was the last player to come in contact with the ball before it crossed the line.

After the match, India head coach Igor Stimac expressed his disappointment by stating that the “irregular” goal had killed his team’s dream.

“Qatar were lucky tonight, especially because they came back from 1-0 with an irregular goal. The whole ball was out of play and the goal was given. It shouldn’t be happening in today’s football because that goal changed everything in this game,” Stimac said after the game. 

“It could’ve happened to Qatar today and I would say the same. I’m not looking for an excuse,” he added.

“I feel sad that when you have 23 boys working really hard and living the dream, to achieve something, and that dream is killed because we didn’t stop such things from happening.”

In response to Qatar’s victory, Indian fans on social media channels accused the referee of “blatant cheating”.

Posts sarcastically referred to Woo-Sung as the “Man of the match“, while other users called him a disgrace to the sport. 

“Total cheating against the Indian Football Team. The ball was out and the referee turned blind,” another account posted. 

An X account called Indian Football, which has more than 90,000 followers, dubbed the game as fraud. 

“BLATANT CHEATING!! UNBELIEVABLE,” the Indian football account posted. 

The Asian Football Confederation and FIFA have yet to comment on the controversy.