Missing corner flags lead to confusion in MSSA U-16 semis

A flagless corner pole during Div-III semis at Azad Maidan on Monday. Pic/Ashish Raje

An administrative lapse led to confusion during a boys U-16 Division-III semi-final of the Dreams Sports-Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) tournament at Azad Maidan on Monday.

St Francis School ICSE (Borivli) beat Army Public School (Colaba) 4-0, with goals from Ethan Lobo, Jensen Fonseca, Daksh Salia and Anson Sequeira.

However, the absence of two of the four corner flags at the northern end of the ground created operational difficulties for referee Raj Kahar and his team.

Corner flags help mark the boundaries of the playing area and assist referees in determining whether the ball has crossed the line.

"We [match officials] are not responsible for this. It is the organisation's [MSSA] duty to ensure everything is in place. I had informed the MSSA officials about the two missing corner flags, but they simply said, ‘Do flags hai na, match shuru karo' [there are two flags, so start the match]," Kahar told mid-day.

St Francis coach John Pereira, himself a certified referee, said the missing flags led to incorrect decisions. "There were at least four wrong line decisions - two corners and two throw-ins - that didn't go in our favour, but I can't blame the referee," said Pereira.

MSSA football secretary Sebastian Fernandes acknowledged the missing equipment but said the referee should report the issue to the MFA Referees body. "This will be brought before the MSSA committee to prevent such oversights in the future," Fernandes said.