Well, this is embarrassing.
Despite its size, India is not really a big name in world football. So the fact that their Under 17s side beat Italy 2-0 on Friday should be a cause for celebration. According to the Hindustan Times, many Indian celebrities took to Twitter to congratulate the team, and the website of the AIFF, India’s football governing body, calling it “a historic moment for Indian football” and ‘”a brand new chapter in the Indian football history”. It’s especially notable as India are hosting the U17 World Cup in October.
First entering the 100 club & now India's U-17 Team beats Italy's U-17 Football Team. Way to go @IndianFootball #FIFAU17WC pic.twitter.com/5iHFpa4b8s
— Praful Patel (@praful_patel) May 20, 2017
Dance the night away! A historic feat as #India U17s defeat #Italy U17 2-0. A historic feat for all #Indians. #BackTheBlue pic.twitter.com/bfduCPOc49
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 19, 2017
Only, that’s not exactly what happened.
India did indeed win the friendly match 2-0, but it wasn’t actually against the Italian U17 national side. It was in reality an ‘Italy Lega Pro U-17 Representative’ team, made up of youth players from teams playing in the third and fourth tiers of Italian football.
The AIFF managed to initially miss out this crucial fact, and just saying they’d beat ‘Italy’.
@LGIcalcio ad @ArezzoCalcio. C'è amichevole under 17 @LegaProOfficial contro la rappresentativa Indiana. Prossimamente il report del match. pic.twitter.com/hlC9LBwqIC
— La Giovane Italia (@LGIcalcio) May 19, 2017
The match was not mentioned on the Italian Football Federation’s website at all. Italian football journalist Emanuele Giulianelli told the Hindustan Time he was very confused by the reports:
It is very strange because there is nothing about this match in the Italian media. This team that played India U-17 is the Lega Pro national representative, and not the Italy U-17 national team.
According to First Post, the AIFF are now saying that it was a paperwork error, and they thought they were due to play the genuine Italian national side. According to First Post:
The AIFF were sent a ‘Tier 2’ form — usually filled up between two nations when their youth teams will play an international match or a friendly — by the Italian federation. National teams need not fill the Tier 2 form for playing a friendly against a club. A ‘Tier 1’ form, on the other hand, is filled up between two nations when their senior national sides are to face each other.
They also claim that UEFA had granted Italy permission to play the game as an official friendly, and the Italian players were wearing the official kit.
Whatever the real explanation, this is definitely an embarrassing moment for the AIFF.
