Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 44 of PKL 5

#4 And in the midst of all this, we had some bungling officials

The officials almost ruined what was a terrific game

While the players on the mat were out there covering themselves in glory, the officials in the second match of the night between the Pirates and the Yoddha were dowsing themselves in incompetence.

Twice they allowed a review to be taken far too late -- in an almost comically ways, once to each side. After Pardeep Narwal had been tackled and Nitin Tomar had come in to pick up two points on the subsequent raid, the two umpires after some consultation allowed the Pirates to review Pardeep's previous raid. Nitin had been one of the Yoddha players to have tackled him and it would have been disastrous had the review ruled Pardeep was safe, because the officials had just allowed Nitin to raid soon after and pick up two points. Absolute madness. There's no way such a late review should have been allowed. And if it was indeed called on time, as one of the officials seemed to suggest, why did they allow Nitin to go for the raid instead of stopping play?

They allowed this to happen once again in the second half, this time in favour of the Yoddha, when Jeeva Kumar was allowed to challenge a Pirates raid far too late. This has to stop.

But THE goof up of this season was yet to come. Battling to stave off an All Out, the Pirates were getting crucial points and Pardeep was revived and he went in for the raid as the last man standing. One UP defender got himself out by stepping out of bounds and after trying for another touch point, Pardeep retreated over to his side. One man was revived, but Nitin gave chase with a quick pursuit, touched Pardeep, celebrated and was given the point.

Then on the next raid, instead of the Pirates, it was Nitin again staring down the last man and inflicting an easy All Out on the home side.

What?????

There were so many things wrong here.

From Pardeep's raid, the man who was revived with the self-out had not come onto the mat yet. As a result, Nitin's pursuit should not have stood and the point to the Yoddha should not have been awarded.

After that, once they had allowed Nitin's quick pursuit raid to stand, how could UP raid again instead of the Pirates???

Absolutely shocking officiating, the kind never seen before. Luckily for either side, none of these decisions came to haunt them in the end, but just imagine if it had.

An absolute stinker from the officiating team.