Walter Zenga vents fury at referee after Al Nasr exit from AFC Champions League

Shukralla sent off Nasr skipper Abdullah Mousa in controversial circumstances after the goalkeeper was adjudged to have committed a last-man foul on Xhevahir Sukaj, resulting in the away side being awarded a penalty.

Nasr were furious with the decision as Sukaj had regained possession when the Sepahan had sportingly given the ball back to the home side, who had voluntarily put it out of play only moments before so that one of their players could receive treatment.

And Zenga was furious at the post-match press conference where he expressed his disbelief at the Bahraini official for “not understanding the moment”.

“This is the first time in my career that I saw a referee do something like that in a match,” Zenga said referring to Shukralla’s red card to Mousa.

The former Italy goalkeeper added: “The ball was sent out by us to let the doctor come in and when we got the ball back, he [Sukaj] did something very unfair and unprofessional, I don’t know what to say about it.

“But the most important mistake was made by the referee. He sent off my player and it was a big technical mistake because two minutes later he did not send off the Sepahan goalkeeper [for a similar foul on Amara Diane that led to a penalty for Al Nasr].

“There is something called fair play and the referee he has to understand the moment of the game and what happened in the game.”

Zenga praised his men for showing great heart in a game where they were clearly the better side in the first half. “To play 10 against 11 is very difficult but we played a very good game,” the Italian said.

“When they scored the second goal it was clear the match was over. When you’re playing 10 against 11 you lose your feeling and your power, but until 2-0 there was no difference. The penalty was a big chance, but we missed it.

Sepahan coach Zlatko Krancjar dismissed the allegations of unsporting behaviour by his men saying they returned the ball and then didn’t score the subsequent penalty.

“We know what fair play means and we showed that in action by passing the ball back to them. We respect Fair Play, but my team was the best team from start to finish,” he said.

“From the first minute we were the best team in the field we had chances. We came here to get three points and qualify for the next stage. I’ve said that Nasr were a good team, but we were definitely the superior team in the field.”

Meanwhile, Krancjar feels Sepahan have a good chance of going all the way in the competition. “I appreciate my team they showed real quality and with this quality we can challenge in the competition,” the Croatian added.

 

 

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