Bermuda Football Association (BFA) will not be protesting the outcome of Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago.

In a decision announced yesterday the BFA said they had no grounds for making such an appeal and believed that the country would just have to accept the defeat.

They will however be sending a strongly worded letter of complaint to FIFA regarding the performance of the referee Carlos Batres and fourth official Elmar Hernandez.

A controversial goal from Stern John, while Bermuda were making a substitution knocked Kenny Thompson's side out of the competition, and left many wondering about the legality of the goal.

However, video evidence throws doubt on whether the referee had actually given Bermuda permission to make a substitution, and also shows that the home side had 12 players on the pitch at the time of the goal.

"The tape of the game shows that the referee stopped the match to award a free kick to Trinidad and Tobago," the BFA said in a statement. "At the same time the fourth official is seen conducting the substitution between Bermuda players Kwame Steede and Jemeiko Jennings. Whilst this sequence of events is a contentious issue, the Bermuda FA has determined that there are no grounds to protest the outcome of the match.

"There was a lack of co-operation between the referee and the fourth official in the substitution process, however in a substitution the assistant referee must signal to the referee that a substitution has been requested, and a player must receive permission to leave the field.

"It is unclear on the tape whether or not the referee acknowledged the substitution, and he also appears unaware that Jennings has entered the field of play. He does however indicate to the Trinidadian player to proceed with the free kick.

"We have determined that the performance of the fourth official was below acceptable standards for a World Cup match, but do not see any grounds for protesting the outcome.

"However, we have decided to send a formal complaint to FIFA regarding the performance of the match officials with respect to the substitution.

"It is difficult to accept what happened, our team deserved better, but ultimately we accept that the referee has the decision to allow substitutions."

And that would appear to be that. A letter of complaint will be sent, but it is unlikely that anything will happen other than the match officials getting the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

What has not been said, but is implied in the outcome of the entire situation is that the team must accept a measure of responsibility for the second goal.

"The referee is in charge of the game, not the fourth official, and everyone should be paying attention to what he is doing," said BFA president Larry Mussenden. "The players should have been paying attention to the referee as well."