By Ralph Martins

The NU-Q Pirates season came to an end slightly ahead of schedule after a highly controversial game against the Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) team Thursday evening.

After a first half in which spectators were treated to a display of almost end-to-end attacking play from both sides, a spate of questionable refereeing decisions made the match implode in the latter stages of second half.

The match began to slide downhill after Pirate James Copplestone Farmer received two second-half yellow cards in less than a minute. (Yellow and red cards are awarded for foul or un-sportsmanlike conduct; a player who receives two yellows or one red card is unable to participate in the match any longer.)

Farmer was awarded his first yellow for dissent after he argued with the referee regarding a free-kick. Play had barely started again when Farmer crashed to the ground after vying for the ball and clashing with a TAMUQ midfielder. On getting his wind back, Farmer was stunned to see the referee pull out a second yellow and the resultant red card.

The referee felt that Farmer’s challenge was unduly aggressive, though it must be noted that it was Farmer who ended up on the turf, while the TAMUQ player seemed barely affected.

Farmer’s undeserved sending off proved catastrophic for the Pirates, who conceded a penalty for handball shortly afterward. Goalkeeper Ali El Atrash protested vehemently, but the referee remained unmoved.

Atrash’s keeping had been exemplary throughout the game, but he was unable to stop a well-struck penalty that flew low into the right corner.

And minutes later, the referee awarded TAMUQ a free-kick in a promising position for another tackle that did not appear to merit a foul. Pirate skipper Syed Mubashar Ali questioned the decision, but the free-kick was upheld, whipped into the box, and diverted over the line for the second Texas goal.

The end was nigh, and the final whistle was sounded much ahead of time after a Pirate player received a straight red for booting the ball away from the field in anger and frustration before the restart.

TAMUQ supporters shouted Undefeated! as their team threw their coach into the air, for preserving their unbeaten record.

It was a disappointing end to a game that promised much, after a first half in which the Pirates played their best football thus far to stay level with a table-topping Texas side.

Both teams created several chances, but failed to pull ahead against keepers on top of their game. Atrash dived, punched and made a point bank save against a formidable TAMUQ attack, while at the other end of the pitch, the TAMUQ keeper did well to get behind a left footed drive from Pirate Jaser Alagha, and later managed to keep the ball out after a goalmouth scramble.

Pirates fans will begin to question the quality of refereeing in the HBKUFL; this is not the first time they’ve found themselves victims of unfavorable decisions.

For example, there was discontent in the team after the Pirates loss to QFIS last week, when QFIS got away with playing tactical fouls to keep the Pirates out of their box. And this latest game will only serve to further convince the Pirate fans that their team is on the receiving end of doubtful refereeing decisions a little too often.