Central Coast fans were left furious and fans around the A-League calling for change after two baffling penalty decisions last night – the latter of which left a Mariners player on crutches.
Defending champions Melbourne City were leading 3-2 in the dying moments at AAMI Park against the Mariners, when star signing Mat Leckie appeared to foul Lewis Miller.
Referee Shaun Evans initially waved play on, but was later called over to the VAR monitor.
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With the referee taking several minutes and dozens of replays, most thought he was simply deciding whether or not to give Leckie a red card in addition to the clear spot kick – as Miller was left with a gash in his leg due to the challenge.
Instead, he waved it away to the frustrations of both the travelling fans and players. Central Coast goalkeeping coach Jess Van Stratten was shown a red card for his protests, as City hung on to their lead in injury time.
“The players’ reaction from Melbourne City knew it was a penalty, they know they’ve given the penalty away, you see his reaction and then we have to take the player off because he’s got a gash on top of his foot and apparently, there’s no contact,” Mariners coach Nick Montgomery told reporters afterwards.
“I’m just in disbelief more than anything.”
Miller left the stadium on crutches, wearing a moonboot.
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To make matters worse, City had already benefitted from a penalty in their favour earlier in the game, despite the contact from Kye Rowles on Marco Tilio appearing to be outside the box.
“We will need some explanations as I don’t understand,” Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp wrote on social media.
“But we didn’t back down and showed fight all game.”
Australian Professional Leagues boss Danny Townsend said that he could “totally understand” why fans were furious at both incidents.
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The unfortunate part about the whole ordeal was that the football itself had been brilliant – in particular the Mariners opener through Béni Nkololo, and Marco Tilio’s match-winner.
Instead, the talk turned to referees, with former A-League star Daniel Georgievski describing the situation as “an embarrassment”.
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The win put City back on top of the ladder, while the Mariners sit in 11th place.
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