Tuwan Raheem and Mohamed Amanullah were utterly disappointed with the refereeing at the Air Force v Renown SC match in the Dialog Champions League at the CR&FC grounds.
Raheem who is the head coach of Air Force and head coach of Renown, Amanullah expressed their views with ThePapare.com at the end of the match where Air Force won 2-0 in a hugely physical game where the referee Lakmal Weerakkody got a few crucial decisions wrong.
“We also have to study in our coaching exams the rules of the game, but this referee didn’t know some rules it seems. The referee was here to watch the match and not to blow,” said Raheem.
“What to say about referees. Talking about them is pointless. They make mistakes every time. When we report about these incidents to the Football Federation, it is we who get suspended,” former Sri Lanka skipper Amanullah said in a sarcastic manner.
In the first half there was a loud appeal for a penalty by Air Force when Mohamed Rizkhan clattered into Nipuna Bandara sending him flying on to the ground but referee Lakmal Weerakkody waved play-on.
Minutes later two Sri Lanka squad members; Ishan and Fazal Mohamed got into a tangle prompting Fazal to react in a violent manner but referee got in between them to prevent a scuffle.
Fazal’s temper was on boiling temperature throughout the match and was lucky to stay on the field. Midway through the first half he clattered with a high elbow into an Air Force player in an incident off the ball. It would have been a straight red card but the referee only awarded a yellow card for Fazal much to the displeasure of the Air Force players and fans.
There were some heated arguments with the referee and the Air Force bench with players showing their frustration. Towards the end of the match Mohamed Rifnaz received his second yellow card but Weerakkody only remembered that he had given Rifnaz his first yellow minutes earlier after the players notified.
“He didn’t know he gave a yellow to that player just minutes before. Only after the players told him only he gave the red card for the double yellow card,” Raheem added.
“Players and coaches get suspended all the time but actions against are not taken. They should announce any suspensions for referees and their rank should be demoted,” Raheem finally mentioned.
“15 minutes is halftime break and that is the rule, but today the referee took 18 minutes. There were so many stoppages and injury delays but the referee only gave three minutes of injury which is ridiculous,” Amanullah said about the lengthy half time break and lack of injury time
“I’ll give you one example. We played with Up Country Lions a couple of years back. They won 2-1. We should have got a penalty. Player was pushing openly referee didn’t give the penalty. We had a video and we gave it to the federation but no action was taken,” Amanullah finally added.
