'Referee review system should be present in I-League'

Bengaluru FC's player of the season Eugeneson Lyngdoh believes there should be a referee review system in the I-League to scrutinise supervision howlers and take necessary action.

Bengaluru became the runners-up in the I-League after drawing their final league match 1-1 against eventual champions Mohun Bagan FC. Bengaluru needed a win to lift the trophy but managed only a draw.

Leading 1-0, they had a strong shout for a penalty turned down by referee Santosh Kumar in the second half when striker Robin Singh was brought down by goalkeeper Shilton Paul. They conceded a goal three minutes from regulation time to witness their title ambitions slip away.

"Some decisions didn't go our way; you can't step away from that. I hope officials make the calls for the right reasons. If anybody disagrees that was not a penalty then I don't know, anywhere in the world it was a penalty. It was a harsh decision," Lyngdoh was quoted as saying by goal.com on Friday.

"I think it was a penalty when Robin was fouled. He had gone past the keeper and was then fouled. There should be a review system in the I-League as well. One decision goes wrong it affects the entire game. We work so hard and because of one decision it costs us the game.

"The entire season's hard work goes up in the air because of such decisions which prove to be vital," he added.

At present the All India Football Federation (AIFF) does not have any referee review system in place.