“These referees are contract-killers. They pulled them (Simla Youngs) in front of every body,” said Raju Gupta, general secretary of the Indian Nationals said pointing to referee, Mahesh Bisht’s flashing of the second yellow card to defender Barun Oran within the first ten minutes of play after he tackled with Charles.

“He (Barun) went for the ball, but his leg rolled over it. Charles’s fooled the referee. Earlier we had registered an official complaint with the DSA when Suraj (Kashyap) was shown the red card by Mohammad Kamil for clapping for a team mate. But even after the complaint, the DSA has appointed him as one of the officials (linesman) in this match,” alleged Gupta.

“I have a feeling the officials get into the matches with the result set in their minds,” said Indian Nationals coach Bernard Oparanozie.

Mohammad Sajid, joint secretary of City FC, also approved, saying, “I followed the entire first half. Between the two yellow cards (shown to Barun), there wasn’t any warning from the referee. Usually, before the second booking, a referee warns the player about it. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Earlier, our skipper (Sohrab Khan) was deliberately stepped upon. The referee overlooked it and when he asked the referee he showed him a yellow card,” said Sajid.