The Real Score

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They take their football seriously in India's southern state of Goa—and last week that led to two of the unlikeliest results in sporting history. Going into the final round of matches in the state's second division, the two top teams, Curtorim Gymkhana and Wilfred Leisure, were tied for first place on points, with only goal difference separating them. At stake: promotion to the first division. Wilfred needed to score seven more goals in their game than Curtorim, who were playing simultaneously in a different location. By halftime that lofty target was within reach. Wilfred led Dona Paula Sports Club 7-0. Curtorim, facing Sangolda Lightning, was only up 1-0.

The referee for the Curtorim-Sangolda match, Benjamin Silva, said what happened next could only be described as "fishy." In the second half, the Sangolda players passed the ball not to one another but straight to their opponents, and declined to venture into Curtorim's half. Similar shenanigans were taking place in the Wilfred-Dona contest. As the crowds started booing, the winning scores in both matches ballooned to basketball proportions. By the final whistle, Wilfred had racked up a 55-1 win, while Curtorim had triumphed 61-1. "It's unbelievable, it's disgraceful," fumed Savio Messias, secretary of the Goa Football Association. "This is a case of intense village rivalry taken to absurd levels." All four teams have been suspended from playing for a year, and India's National Football Association is mulling a life ban for everybody involved. Curtorim's general secretary Arnold D'Costa quit. But his Wilfred counterpart Diniz Sardinha stayed put, insisting that his side was being unfairly targeted for its "ability."