Chief refereeing

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round: Following India’s controversial loss against Qatar, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has released a statement confirming their intentions to appeal the "grave supervision error caused during the game that practically cost India a place in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3".

India's dream to make the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to a heartbreaking end in Doha on Tuesday night with a 1-2 loss to Qatar.

"The defeat against Qatar in the FIFA 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 concluding match on Tuesday night was a huge disappointment for the entire Indian football fraternity. While victory and defeat are a part and parcel of the game, and we have learned to accept it gracefully, one of the two goals scored against India yesterday night left a few questions unanswered," AIFF president Kalyan Chuabey said in a statement.