Mumbai City coach alleges referee called his player monkey during ISL match

Bengaluru: Mumbai City FC head coach Jorge Costa has alleged that the referee, who officiated his side's Indian Super League match against Bengaluru FC, called one of his players a monkey, a charge which the national federation will investigate.

Before starting his media conference after Mumbai City FC's 3-2 win over Bengaluru FC at the Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, Costa read out a statement, saying that Saudi Arabian referee Turki Alkhudhayr called Gabonese player Serge Kevyn a monkey and "made some gestures" which were disrespectful.

"I am speaking about the respect that he (the match official) did not have today with one player - Serge Kevyn, that during the game, this referee made some gestures, calling him a monkey. And this, there are things, that I cannot close my eyes," Costa said.

"ISL, they need foreigners. With all respected foreigners like me, like Carles (Cuadrat), like all foreigner players, like all foreigner coaches, they need people that (they will) respect the league, the culture and they are here to work and to try that this league can every day be better," he added.

A spokesperson of the league's organisers - FSDL - said the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been requested to investigate the allegation.

"ISL has asked the AIFF to investigate the matter fully and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this point of time," he said.

As per the rules governing the ISL, all such matters are dealt with by the AIFF's disciplinary committee.

Kevyn hails from Gabon, which is an African country. He plays as a midfielder for the ISL club.

Mumbai City FC snapped defending champions Bengaluru FC's unbeaten run with a 3-2 win in the keenly-contested ISL match.