PANAJI
Brisbane Roar FC’s head coach, Ruben Zadkovich expressed frustration over the refereeing decisions following a challenging match in India.
Zadkovich’s remarks came after his team faced difficulties both on and off the field, including an injury and controversial refereeing decisions.
Zadkovich questioned the professionalism of the referee, who had officiated in multiple games involving his team. "Is this referee a professional? We’ve had the same referee twice, and it’s surprising," Zadkovich said. He implied that the repeated referee might be impacting the fairness of the games.
Zadkovich also commented on the pace of Indian football compared to his team’s style of play. "From what we’ve seen, the pace of the game seems slower than what we’re used to. As a football coach and with input from my assistants, we all agree that the red card decisions seemed unjustified," he stated.
In a more light-hearted remark, Zadkovich suggested an unusual solution to address the perceived unfairness: "Maybe for the next game, both teams should start with 10 players. We could even consider a tennis-style tournament for a fairer competition."
Despite these frustrations, the coach praised his team’s performance under difficult conditions. "We’ve faced a lot of adversity, including playing with 10 men for most of both games," he said. "Despite this, we controlled the game well, creating more entries into the final third, more crosses, and more shots on goal. We were dominant even with a player down."
Addressing the pitch conditions, Zadkovich acknowledged the challenges posed by the heavy rain but praised the efforts of the local ground staff. "The rain is out of everyone’s control. The hospitality and the efforts of the ground staff have been excellent," he said. "There’s only one pitch available, and every team has to play on it. We’ve managed well in these conditions and played good football."
Regarding injury concerns and player fitness, Zadkovich showed confidence in his team’s resilience. "We’ve played in various conditions around the world. This is part of professional football. The players have handled the situation well, and our high-performance and medical teams are doing a great job," he noted. "Even with injuries and playing with 10 men, our fitness and resilience have been commendable."
Zadkovich was particularly critical of a disallowed goal in their latest match, which he felt was a significant error. "We scored a legitimate goal that wasn’t allowed, and it’s frustrating. It feels like we’re playing 11 versus 10 in this tournament," he said. "We need to address these issues for a fair competition."
Looking ahead, the coach hopes for a change in refereeing for their next game. "It would be nice to have a different referee. Maybe the current one doesn’t favour Brisbane, so a new referee might bring a fresh perspective," Zadkovich suggested.
