Fandi Disappointed With Quality Of Refereeing

ISKANDAR PUTERI, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Sri Pahang FC coach Fandi Ahmad did not mince his words when he questioned the quality of refereeing, which he described as biased, during his team's 3-1 Super League loss to Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium here last night.

He was particularly miffed with the three yellow cards shown to his players while none of the JDT players were booked despite the tackles made by both teams.

"I  am being frank. I am most displeased with the referee. These days football is becoming like rugby.

"Kpah Sean Sherman was tackled three to four times in the first half but nothing (no yellow card) was given, not even a freekick.

"But (our players) were shown three yellow cards, JDT had none. That's what my team and I are most displeased with and this is unfair. Yes, we know they are a good team but (refereeing) must be fair,” he told the post-match press conference after the match last night.

He also questioned the decisions made, including the penalty given after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check, saying it (the check) should give a clear picture of whether or not a foul was committed.

"How can (it be a) penalty when Arif Aiman lost the ball, (after) my player made a clean tackle and he (Arif Aiman) went tumbling? Play was allowed to continue for three minutes before it was stopped (for VAR check).

"This is bad for football. Win or lose is part of the game but we didn't stand a chance,” he said.

Fandi, however, praised his men for giving their best and keeping JDT at bay in the first half.

Meanwhile, JDT head coach Hector Bidoglio described the match as "challenging”.

“In the first half, we were unable to capitalise on several scoring opportunities, but things changed in the second half.

“It was a very tough match. We need to work on our weaknesses to avoid making the same mistakes,” he said.

-- BERNAMA