New Delhi: The SAFF Championship which is the flagship footballing event of South Asia and promises to increase the proximity amongst the countries from this region ended on a bitter note as the Afghanistan's coach Yusuf Kargari accused referee Sukhbir Singh to be biased towards India on Sunday.

" I don't know whether he was Hindu or sikh, but he supported India. He was partial towards us and his decision cost us the match. The morale of the team was killed due to the decision," said the dejected Yusuf.

The final match which was an evenly fought battle and looked like anybody's match till the 68th minute, went out of Afghanistan's clutches after Jeje was fouled by Faisal Saba within the box which prompted the referee to award India a spot kick. The decision enraged the Afghan goalkeeper Hameedullah Yousufzari and he pushed Sukhbir Singh, earning him marching orders. The penalty was a pathbreaker for India and they eventually beat Afghanistan 4-0 to defend the SAFF Campionship who looked totally out of sync after the decision.

The Afghanistan's coach who totally blames the referee for the loss, is now contemplating to write about the whole incident to Asian Football Confederation (AFC). " We shall write to AFC on this issue and would seek an answer as to how such a young and inexperienced referee was officiating in the final. His judgment cost us the whole championship," added Yusuf.

Meanwhile his counterpart, Savio Madeira did not comment much on the issue and chose to stay away from it. " I don't know much about the decision and would have to see the tapes. The penalty decision was given by the linesmen as they had better view. But talking about the send off if he really did touch the referee than I think the offence was enough to earn a red card," said Madeira.