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KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Super League was in full force yesterday as matchday three bore witness to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) travelling up north to defeat Kuala Lumpur City Football Club (KLFC) 3-0 at the KLFA Stadium here in Cheras.
The Southern Tigers win ended KLFC’s 23-game unbeaten run at home − a revenge that was long coming after JDT lost the Malaysia Cup 2-0 to The City Boys last year.
JDT held possession for the majority of the first half, leading them to their first goal in the 17th minute by Fernando Marin Forestieri after the forward went one-on-one with the keeper and tucked the ball in the bottom left corner.
However, it wasn’t the impressive scoreline that everyone was buzzing about but rather the questionable refereeing decisions made throughout the game, which took centre stage, during and after the climatic match.
With minor tackles subjecting KLFC players to yellow cards, head coach Bojan Hodak was visibly fuming on the sidelines. In contrast to this, JDT seemed to be getting away with most of their challenges.
The turning point came in the 56th minute when KLFC’s Muhammad Akram Mahinan ‘took down’ JDT midfielder Leonardo Sebastian Velazquez inside the penalty box with what seemed to be a minor tap from the back.
When Leonardo seemingly bounced right back on to his feet, the referee called the foul on the JDT player and KLFC was handed a freekick.
KLFC midfielder Kenny Pallraj Davaragi then entered the fray and after what seemed to be a light tap on Leonardo, which caused the JDT player to ‘dramatically’ fall to the ground, Davaragi was given marching orders by the referee.
This was the second red card for KLFC this season after Giancarlo Gallifuoco was sent off during their match with rivals Selangor on March 4.
Clearly feeling that an unfair decision was made, the number 21 argued with the referee on the call but was eventually forced off the pitch by teammates and coaching staff.
His reaction was not unexpected since many of the referee’s calls leading up to that point seemed to be in favour of JDT.
KLFC’s luck soon worsened in the 79th minute when another JDT player went down without a challenge.
Bergson Gustavo Silveira Da Silva converted the penalty into a goal and JDT were up 2-0.
JDT then sealed the win in added time when Da Silva scored his second goal − blasting the ball past KLFC keeper Kevin Ray Mendoza Hansen from six yards.
Post-game, Hodak was evidently not happy with how the match went.
“There were some seven or eight yellow cards, I cannot comment on anything else, and the red card killed the game.
“I cannot say anything to my boys because they did a good job.
“I cannot talk about the referee because I will be fined,” he said.
Although Hodak declined to comment further on the match official, he did say that losing their unbeaten home record this way was not right.
When The Vibes contacted the Football Association of Malaysia referees’ committee chairman Datuk Sivasundaram Sithamparam Pillai, it was understood that there were no formal complaints lodged by KLFC in regards to this matter. – The Vibes, April 7, 2022
