Imphal, November 17: Reflecting popular sentiments in criticising match officials� conduct in the Manipur versus Goa quarter final encounter in the Santosh Trophy football tournament All Manipur Football Association president A Santoshkumar said AMFA withdrawing affiliation from All India football Federation could not be ruled out.

Soon after the match ended 1-1 ensuring passage of Goa into the last four stage of the prestigious competition, an agitated Santoshkumar questioning intention of the referee said such unprofessional conduct of match officials will certainly constrict aspirations of talented players from Manipur.

He also informed of establishing immediate contact with the AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco regarding �How to Start the game� rule pertaining to re-start of a game after a goal had been scored.

Besides conveying to the Federation secretary of whether the match referee in the crucial Manipur-Goa clash is a person well versed with the said rule, Santoshkumar asserted that Manipur team coach and manager had been advised to lodge protest through proper channel with a stern reminder not to leave the championship location till final disposition of the protest.

In case AIFF authorities fail to honour the protest AMFA will have to reconsider whether to take further part in any competitions organised under the aegis of the Indian Federation.

Santoshkumar also affirmed that he would relinquish his AMFA post and cited awaiting a final decision of the tournament�s organising committee and response from the AIFF for not resigning immediately.

Elaborating on the game�s rule with particular reference to restart, he said match officials should ensure that players of each opposite side are at their respective zones before re-start which was not complied with in today�s tie resulting in Goa�s entry to the semi final on goal difference.

On the other hand, Deputy Director of Youth Affairs and Sports Department W Sushilkumar, who is a member of Asian Football Federation�s Vision India Pilot Project asserted that he would step down from being a member of the ambitious project if AMFA do not spell out its course of action/reaction against the referee�s decision.

Mention may be made that Sushilkumar had officiated several matches in the national level competitions.

Meanwhile, Christian Sporting Club, Golapati condemned lack of professionalism on the part of championship telecaster for failure to repeat the restart which ultimately led to the Goa equaliser.

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