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Referee claims coach Houghton abused him
Referee Dinesh Nair accused national coach Bob Houghton of abusing him for not awarding adequate stoppage time during India's friendly against Yemen last week. India lost the match 3-6 in Pune.
Referee Dinesh Nair accused national coach Bob Houghton of abusing him for not awarding adequate stoppage time during India's friendly against Yemen last week. India lost the match 3-6 in Pune.
Nair's complaint has been recorded in match commissioner Anthony D'Costa's report and submitted to the All India Football Federation. Federation general secretary Alberto Colaco said like all match commissioners' reports, this too will be examined first by the executive committee next month.
Nair, the only Indian referee chosen for next month's Asian Games, was recently in the news for being charged by Mohun Bagan with shoddy supervision in the Federation Cup final which they lost 0-1 to East Bengal in Cuttack. Nair, 38, qualified as a referee in 1998.
According to an AIFF official, who didn't want to be named, Houghton was upset with Nair awarding only "two minutes of added time in the first half." Nair was the fourth official in the match.
Houghton, according to the official, came out of the technical area and started arguing with Nair who told him the decision was solely taken by the referee. The national coach, in charge since June 2006, is said to have even abused Nair.
"I wrote what I saw and did what I think was right. Now it is for the AIFF to decide," D'Costa said. Now at home in Cape Town, Houghton couldn't be reached for a comment.
Nair refused to speak on the issue, saying he is not authorised. According to the Kolkata-based The Telegraph newspaper, Houghton's abuse had racial overtones. If that is proved, Houghton, according to the Asian Football Confederation rules, could face both a ban and a hefty fine.
