Fury as referee ends penalty shootout to decide winner of cup final by coin toss

There were bizarre scenes at the South Asian Under-19s Women's Cup final, which was decided on a coin toss before backlash forced a unique verdict

Posted Saturday, February 10, 2024 by Dailystar.co.uk

Rather than continue with the shootout like normal, the referee took matters into her own hands

A referee sparked controversy as she stopped a penalty shootout to instead decide a cup final on a coin toss.

India faced Bangladesh for the South Asian Football Federation Under-19s Women's Cup, with the match finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes. There was also then nothing to separate them in the shootout as all 22 players scored their spot kicks.

"Now the players will take again," said the commentator, as is standard practice. But the officials bizarrely called both teams over to the sidelines before inviting the captain's for a coin toss.

India correctly called the 50/50 decision and wheeled away in celebration, while the Bangladesh manager and squad furiously protested the injustice. Ironically, more coins were thrown on from the stands by angry fans too.

The poor confused commentator summed up everyone's thoughts as he exclaimed: "Honestly in all these years of watching football and commentating this is the first time I've witnessed a match finish on a coin toss."

The unprecedented situation then rumbled on for the best part of two hours as it was ultimately decided the two teams would be declared joint-champions, with both lifting the trophy.

A spokesperson from the All India Football Association (AIFF) told local outlet PTI: "It was a good gesture from the All India Football Federation. We accepted the decision to declare both sides as joint winners."

The AIFF acting secretary-general also told The Hindustan Times: "India, despite being declared winners after the spin of coin, decided to accept the officials' request for sharing the trophy as the situation was simmering and a section of the home fans was found indulging in creating disturbances.

"Since the security of the players and other team officials is our utmost priority, the AIFF decided to agree to the request of the organisers."

Quite where the referee got her novel approach from remains a mystery. While it is rare for shootouts to go all the way back to the start, it does happen every now and again - with the longest being non-league Washington beating Bedlington 25-24 in March 2022.