On Tuesday morning, Qatar narrowly beat India 2-1 in the Asian zone's out-of-conference matches. Behind the result, however, lies a controversial contest. In the key scene of Qatar's equalizer, a player's goal was suspected to be offside, but the referee turned a blind eye to the incident, which became the turning point of the game.
Had it not been for a stunning comeback by Qatar's Ehsin, India would have been expected to take the lead in the 37th minute and thus advance to the second place in the group. But in the 73rd minute, a storm descended. Ayman's header nearly broke the deadlock but was missed by the Indian keeper and should have been awarded a penalty corner.
However, the ball unexpectedly fell into Qatar's hands. A shot from Ehsin weaved its way through like a ghost to level the score at 1-1. Angry protests from the Indian players failed to sway the referee's decision and Qatar took the lead again after 85 minutes with this goal.
As the match came to an end, the emotions of the Indian fans ran like a tidal wave. The internet was flooded with questions about the match, with one person bluntly stating, "It was the darkest match ever, a ghost goal for Qatar." In a highly controversial match, Qatar have steadily progressed, but the price of victory could be reputational damage.
