Why did Cambodia threaten to pull out of AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against India?

India started their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign with a 2-0 win against Cambodia on Wednesday. Sunil Chhetri scored both the goals for the Blues Tigers in the match which was played at the Salt Lake Stadium. However, India vs Cambodia match would not have even taken place had Cambodia pulled out of the match even before it started.

AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: AIFF comes under scanner again ahead of IND vs CAM

Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) threatened to pull out of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against India just hours before the start due to their national flag failing to meet exact specifications. The national flag produced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to meet the exact specification in terms of design and colour code. Following the issue, the FFC President Sao Sokha asked for an apology from the AFC and AIFF, the refusal of which would have seen them pull out of the rest of the tournament.

(Image credit: freshnewsasia.com)

In response, The AFC almost issued an official letter regretting the entire issue and further said that graphics of national flags will be used for the competition. The official statement said, “It is regretful that the Cambodia flag produced for the Competition does not meet the exact specification in terms of design and color code. Therefore, kindly be informed that the AFC will be using the graphic of the national flags on the giant screen for the upcoming matches in the Competition, as has been the practice for the last two (2) years in the AFC competitions,”

Besides threatening to pull out of the match the Cambodian players were also left frustrated due to flag mix-up and national anthem glitch which them left them stranded on the field. When both the teams lined up for the national anthem, confusion arouse after it was announced that Cambodia's national anthem would go up first, but the Indian national anthem was played.

Besides the national anthem fiasco, the Cambodian national flag on display on the digital screen cut to black midway.  Both items went back to the dugout for refreshments before returning back to complete the rituals. The anthem was reportedly played on a Cambodian official's mobile phone after it was connected to a console.

India vs Cambodia match highlights

Sunil Chhetri's brace during IND vs CAM match brought him back to third place in the list of highest scorers among active footballers in the world. The striker is now sits third behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with 82 goals to his name. Coming to the match the contest had a tense start with centre-back Sandesh Jhingan earning a yellow card in the third minute of the match.

However the nerved were settled by Sunil Chhetri who broke the deadlock in the 14th minute by scoring the goal through penalty. Liston Colaco was brought down inside the box by Kok Boris of Cambodia and Chhetri slotted the ball past Cambodia custodian Hul Kimhuy to give the lead to the team.

However, the Talismanic Indian striker got himself booked in the 30th minute for a rough tackle on Cambodia's Choun Chanchav. Despite having the majority of the possession, the Blue Tigers failed to capitalise on that and went into the break with a slender lead.

Indian Football team showed more fluidity in their attack after a couple of changes during the halftime. India doubled their lead courtesy of a superb assist by Brandon Fernandes who fed the ball for Chhetri to score and India a 2-0 cushion at the hour mark. Fernandes cross saw Chhetri finding the back of the net with a free header. Post the second loss, Indi managed to play out the rest of the match without much trouble to register a winning start to the campaign.