Bhutia cries 'foul'

India's football team captain Baichung Bhutia on Saturday said he suspects 'foul play' in being sent off after being shown two yellow cards during the World Cup qualifying match against the UAE on Thursday night, even as his team geared up to play without him in the next match against Yemen.

"When the referee was showing the yellow card, I was just on the scene. In the second incident, both of us (he and the UAE player) were responsible. It was fifty-fifty mistake from both sides," Bhutia said.

"Everybody knows what happened in that match. I suspect some foul play behind the referee's decision," he said. He, however, ruled out appealing against the decision of referee Abdul Hamid Halim of Malaysia at any international forum.

Veteran striker I M Vijayan echoed his captain's view, saying Bhutia's mistake did not deserve a red card.

Bhutia was booked in the first half for pushing Fahed Ali. His second infringement against the same UAE defender earned him the second yellow card. India lost their sting after Bhutia's departure and conceded the decisive goal three minutes after he left the field as they went down 0-1.

However, Bhutia and coach Sukhwinder Singh expressed confidence that their team would defeat Yemen in the next match.

"Bhutia is our ace card and his loss will reflect in the performance of the team. But soccer is a team game and our team is fully capable of overcoming the setback with its expertise," Sukhwinder said.

"The entire team is aware of the importance of the match against Yemen and we will clinch victory," he added.

Bhutia himself was also quite optimistic about India's chances in the May 4 game.

"We are very hopeful of winning the next match against Yemen," he said.

Yemen defeated Brunei 1-0 on Friday and now lead the Asian Zone Group 8 league with seven points from three matches. The UAE are placed second, with six points from three outings, followed by India, who have four points.

The top team from each of the 10 Asian groups advances to the second qualifying round.