“Let Bangladesh and India play the final, send us home”: Sri Lanka coach fumes over refereeing at SAFF

After a last-minute win slipped away against Bhutan in the SAFF Championship, Sri Lanka coach Abdullah Al Mutairi vented his anger at the referees and the tournament organisers. At the post-match press conference, he alleged directly that if the tournament wants to see India and Bangladesh in the final through commercial interests or bias, it should simply hand the final to those two teams instead of wasting the other teams’ time.

At the National Stadium, Sri Lanka were ahead but the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Throughout the post-match press conference, Al Mutairi expressed his dissatisfaction with the refereeing.

Speaking about the referee’s wrong decisions and the absence of VAR, the coach said that had VAR been in place from the group stage, he believes their second goal was offside. And Sri Lanka should also have had a penalty, but did not get it.

“If all these mistakes can happen against Bhutan, what will happen to us against the host country Bangladesh? That is my question to SAFF,” Al Mutairi said.

Pointing to the tournament’s commercial policy and bias, Al Mutairi added: “If you want to see India and Bangladesh in the final thinking of commercial benefit, then organise the final only between those two teams. Send the rest of the teams home and save our valuable time.”

Taking the organisers to task over the cost of introducing VAR, he asked: “If you cannot spend the money, why organise the tournament? At least if you bring referees from outside, keep VAR. Why do you bring in VAR only at the last semi-final and the final?”

Yet despite all this, the Sri Lanka coach made it clear he has no fear about the upcoming match against Bangladesh. Expressing his confidence, he said: “I only feared my father, so I fear no one and nothing. On the football field it will be 11 against 11.”

“I promise one thing: the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match will be the best match in SAFF history,” Al Mutairi said.

Bangladesh had been watching this match between Sri Lanka and Bhutan. It ended 2-2, and that confirmed Bangladesh’s place in the SAFF Championship semi-finals for a seventh time. The draw also kept Bhutan’s semi-final hopes alive.

At the National Stadium, the contest was end-to-end from the start. Dawa Shering put Bhutan ahead in the 34th minute, but a minute later Oliver Kelaart equalised for Sri Lanka with a superb shot from outside the box. Just before half-time, Wasim Razik headed in from a Kelaart cross in the 43rd minute to make it 2-1 for Sri Lanka.

Bhutan had a chance to equalise in the second half and won a penalty in the 68th minute, but Sri Lanka goalkeeper Sujan Perera saved captain Chencho’s spot-kick. Bhutan did not have to regret the miss for long: Chencho scored a fine goal in the 76th minute to bring his team level, and with no further goals the match ended 2-2.

The draw leaves Sri Lanka and Bhutan on one point each, while Bangladesh have three points after beating Bhutan in their first match. Bangladesh have therefore secured a semi-final place with a match in hand, though the race to top the group is still open.

On November 11, Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka in their final group match. A draw would take Sri Lanka through to the semi-finals, while a Bangladesh win by two or more goals would eliminate Sri Lanka. Bhutan’s semi-final fate also depends on the result of that match.

The match was also a chance for Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley to watch the opposition up close. After finishing the team’s training at 10am, he took the players to the National Stadium to get a sense of Sri Lanka’s style of play, strengths, and weaknesses, since Bangladesh will face this same team on November 11.

Bangladesh’s preparations are also progressing. Sheikh Morsalin trained for the full session today, but Tapu Barman’s injury has not fully healed. The defender ran separately under the physiotherapist’s supervision instead of training with the team.