Al Ahli boss Cosmin Olaroiu has insisted “it is in everyone’s interest” for referees to be forced to learn from their mistakes.

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Olaroiu, 45, has suffered controversial calls in his last two matches. A soft penalty was awarded against defensive midfielder Kwon Kyung-Won for pulling Brett Holman as Al Nasr fought back to draw 2-2 last Thursday, with the worst to follow in a devastating 2-1 midweek AFC Champions League loss to their namesakes Al Ahli Jeddah.

In that game, Majed Hassan was given a second yellow card for a foul clearly committed by Everton Ribeiro and sent off in a case of mistaken identity.

This saw the Red Knights go from one-goal up through the Brazilian and heading for the knockout stages, to their continental destiny being taken out of their hands after losing 2-1.

Olaroiu was fined Dh25,000 after he rallied against Yaqoub Qaseem Al Hammadi’s controversial call from the Blue Wave fixture and he continued to rage in the build-up to Sunday’s meeting with bottom-placed Ittihad Kalba.

He said: “Always, I will talk about my point of view and the truth under any circumstances. If you [ journalists] mistype something, you will admit it and bear the punishment – rulers are always right and we are wrong.

“We all do our best and then someone comes and loses you everything. When humans make mistakes, they must be recognised – it is in everyone’s interest to improve.”

The Red Knights’ miserable defence of their AGL title is officially over after Al Ain were crowned champions last Friday, with a late push at the Asian qualification spots highly unlikely because of an eight-point gap with only nine left.

They will again be without injured skipper Luis Jimenez, but Ribeiro’s breakthrough display on Tuesday should soften the blow.