Controversy at Solid v Kirulapone United encounter

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Controversy at Solid v Kirulapone United encounter

In the FA Cup Round of Last 32 Solid SC met Kirulapone United; and even though Solid won 5-0 the game was not without its fair share of controversy.

Kirulapone United has been one of the surprise packages this season. They had to participate from the qualifying round to get into the 1st round, and since then it has been a dream run for them defeating the likes of Moragasmulla SC and Ratnam SC on their way to the 7th round.

Road to FA Cup Round of 32 – 8 Qualified Teams

The first and biggest talking point of the game happened right before kick off which consequently delayed proceedings.

The story unfolded when the match referee, Hiran Udayakantha declared that the home jersey of Kirulapone United which was their usual yellow and blue strip subsequently clashed with the orange strip of the visitors Solid FC.

After lengthy discussions the home team, quite possibly for the first time in Sri Lanka in a major tournament, had to be content with fielding in Solid FC’s away strip, which was a grey and orange strip.

The referee’s reason behind the verdict was that he claimed that the home team should carry an alternative kit as per the FA rules in Sri Lanka; yet how yellow and blue clashed with an orange jersey or why the away side wasn’t requested to field in their away strip rather than the home side are questions begging answers.

The home team officials were displeased as they said that they are a small team and do not have the resources to have a second set of kits, unlike Solid FC, who are a Champions League club.

This resulted in both teams making an appearance in Solid FC which yet again makes you question the standard being upheld at this level of football.

The second incident was a mere reflection of the frustration the home team went through.

After being thumped 5-0 and being set off their blocks mentally before kick-off emotions just boiled over from the home side with two minutes to spare.

This resulted in some nasty tackling which lead towards a clash between the teams in the 88th minute; both the coaching staff and supporters were involved as they made their feelings heard.

Although this resulted in two yellow cards for players from either side one would always argue whether this could have been prevented if matters were handled professionally prior to this.

Although one might argue why a simple matter of your outfit affects a team as such in their preparation and performance, it is understood that superstition and pride are part and parcel of sport regardless of which level of sport you play or where you play.

Hence appropriate respect has to be given in what certain teams believe or observe before a game.

The questions is  if  tact and decorum was used in handling the matter and if there was a better way of solving it. Let’s hope lessons will be taken forward with this matter and authorities prevent such occurrences in the future.