Aizawl finish game with 12 players, East Bengal register complaint

AIZAWL FC PUT ON an impressive display against East Bengal at Barasat tonight and earned a hard fought draw against them, but the whole thing almost backfired on them because of a controversy caused by individual error.

Towards the last minute of added time, Aizawl FC striker Kamo Stephane Bayi picked up an injury and had to be carried out on a stretcher. Head coach Khalid Jamil immediately replaced him with Lalthakima. But Kamo, receiving treatment on the other end of the pitch, did not realise he was substituted and came back on. And neither the referee, the assistant referees nor the fourth official noticed that. So for the last fifty seconds or so, Aizawl FC had 12 players on the pitch.

This resulted in an argument and scuffles at the touchline after the match, and Kamo was shown a yellow card. East Bengal registered a complaint with the match commissioner about the whole matter.

For a while it was feared that Aizawl FC could be subjected to heavy punishment for this disciplinary lapse, and the match could be awarded to East Bengal with full 3 points. But later it was made clear that since this was their first offense, and the error had minimal impact on the game, Aizawl FC would at best be let off with a warning.