Kaya FC coach David Perkovic rued the officiating on Saturday night, particularly a decision that left his team a man down early in its 1-2 loss to Global in the United Football League at the Emperador Stadium in Mckinley Hill.
Just 10 minutes into the game between two perennial title contenders, Kaya’s OJ Porteria was sent off with a straight red card after committing a handball that disallowed what would’ve been the team’s second goal.
While admitting the star striker committed an error, Perkovic believed Porteria’s action didn’t merit a straight red from referee Christian Pacaña.
“What OJ did was wrong and we’ll deal with that internally. Having said that, ridiculous decisions like that cost championships and if this referee is refing next week, it just puts the whole league as a farce,” the Australian mentor said.
Porteria, who scored the opening goal seven minutes back, was stunned by his ejection.
“It happened so fast. The ball got crossed, and I couldn’t get to the ball. It wasn’t intentional but it was a reaction. My hand went up and the ball went to the goal. I was just a little surprised that it was a straight red,' he said.
Kaya skipper Anton del Rosario posted a picture pertaining to the Fifa rules on handling the ball on his Twitter account, @anton_delro, the next day, saying Poreria should’ve only been given a yellow card.
“I hope the officials from last night’s game take a look at this photo of rules. They ruined our game,” the caption read.
Even winning coach Leigh Manson thought the infraction was too much.
“It was certainly a card, but a red was a bit harsh,” the Scottish Global mentor said.
“If the standard of refereeing continues like this, then we’re not gonna have honest champions, because things like this cost teams points,” Perkovic continued. “I’m not saying we’re gonna be, but if we miss out on a championship by a couple of points, this is the reason why.”
Perkovic, though, said he no longer intends to file a formal complaint anymore.
“What for? Nothing ever happens,” he said. “Everyone saw what happened. It was a red card offense that wasn’t a red card, so there’s no reason for us to file a report. The evidence was on the pitch. They should do their own internal investigations.”
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