WATCH: Poor refereeing leads to chaos in Asian Games 2022 men's Kabaddi final between India and Iran

Huge chaos erupted in men’s Kabaddi final between Iran and India. Following the wins against their respective opponents in the semis, India and Iran took on each other in the final of the men’s Kabaddi in the Asian Games 2022. During the match, both teams were involved in a close battle, which led to some of the most thrilling moments.

In the last minute of the match, India was under pressure as they had to not just contain Iran, but also had to face a do-or-die situation. Pawan went to the Iranian court and tried to claim some points. But the Indian captain was unable to fetch points for his team. In the process, Pawan tried to get some crucial touches, but failed and went out of bounds.

That was when 4 Iranian defenders made a move to push Pawan outside the court, which could have given them the momentum. But since Pawan was already out of bounds, he was declared out by the referees. Iranian defenders committed a blunder and attempted the push towards Pawan, which cost them big time. According to the rules, all the defenders who attempt to push the raiders after being out of bounds, will be declared out.

Watch the video below:

Unreal drama at the Court of #Kabaddi in the Asian Games Final between India & Iran. 🇮🇳🇮🇷

Poor umpiring, poor management, against the goodwill of this beautiful sport. These Asian Games have been disappointing in terms of officials.#AsianGamespic.twitter.com/B1MVpOWysW

— The CrickFun (@TheCrickFun) October 7, 2023

Controversial referee decisions and protests rock Kabaddi Match final

Here is what the international Kabaddi rulebook states. “If a defender or defenders who has / have touched the ground outside the boundary (as per rule 5), hold a raider, the raider will be declared NOT OUT. The defender or defenders who have gone out of bounds only will be declared out,” states the rules of the international Kabaddi rulebook.

But the referees did not give points to the Indian team. So, India protested the decisions of the referees and reviewed it. After the review, India was given 4 points. As it could have proved against Iran in the eventual outcome, the Iranian players and coaches protested the decision of the referees. In the process, Pawan had an exchange with the Iranian coach, which was not good.