India coach hopes not to 'hate VAR' in SAFF final

Resumen detallado

The victory took the nine-time champions to their 14th final in 15 editions of the tournament and their 10th in succession.

India coach Naushad Moosa hopes to benefit from Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions in the SAFF Championship final after two calls went against his side in their 2-1 win over Bhutan in the first semifinal at the National Stadium today.

The defending champions led 2-0 at half-time but came under pressure after the break. Bhutan's first goal was initially ruled out for offside before the Indonesian referee overturned the decision. India were then awarded a penalty, only for the referee to reverse that call with the help of VAR. The technology, being used for the first time in the regional tournament, is operated from Thailand.

Asked about the decisions, Moosa laughed before remarking: “Somehow I didn't like it. One goal and one penalty [went against India]… I hate VAR.”

Moosa, however, struck a more positive note when asked about the benefits of VAR for the game. “It's good… Maybe an advantage for me for the next game, hopefully,” said the India coach, a member of the country's 1997 SAFF-winning team.

The victory took the nine-time champions to their 14th final in 15 editions of the tournament and their 10th in succession.

The India coach said he had no preference between a possible final against Pakistan or Bangladesh. Moosa also ruled out the possibility of India's senior players joining his squad for the showpiece event, with the main team scheduled to face New Zealand today before travelling tomorrow. “It's not possible for them to reach [here] and play [the final],” he said.

Asked about India's second-half struggles -- they conceded twice against Pakistan after leading 3-0 and also faltered against Maldives -- Moosa said his players had failed to replicate their first-half performance. “Let me take it in a positive way -- I think we defended well in the second half.”

Inicio del artículo, extracto de The Daily Star. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.