Pitso Mosimane slams referee after penalty decisions
Esteghlal FC head coach, Pitso Mosimane, has expressed his frustration with the referee’s performance in their recent match against Al Ahli Saudi, citing questionable penalty decisions.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly coach’s side shared spoils with Al Ahli Saudi on Monday evening after a 2-2 draw in the AFC Champions League group stage match away from home.
During the match, the referee awarded Al Ahli two penalties and Esteghlal were also reduce to 10-man following a red card to Mohammad Hossein Eslami.
The stalemate left Esteghlal in eighth position in Group B with only five points from six outings. They have registered one victory, two draws and suffered three defeats.
PITSO MOSIMANE IS NOT HAPPY THAT THE REFEREE DIDN’T CONSULT VAR ON THE SECOND PENALTY
The 60-year-old says the referee was unfair on the second penalty as he didn’t consult the VAR to check what really happened. The SA coach believes they could have won the match if the referee was fair.
“I still have to check on the video, to reduce us to play with 10-man it’s not easy and two penalties here it’s not easy. I was afraid he was going to give the third one [penalty],” said Mosimane.
“Al Ahli is a big team with big stars, they don’t need penalties to score. I’m just not happy that the referee didn’t go to look on the VAR for the second penalty. Why doesn’t he check? It’s a very difficult situation to judge with your eye, that’s why we have VAR.”
Mosimane added: “On the red card he went to VAR, he says red card; okay he went to check. But the second penalty why doesn’t he go to check? there were a lot of people there [in the box]. You cannot see with your eye, he decided he’s giving penalties and he’s taking us with a red card.
“I think he’s a professional, he’s not a bad referee to be honest. But I think he’s going to check his game so he can see if he made the right decision. It’s very sad for us, we thought we could have won here, but we got one point it’s okay.”
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