SLNA accuses referee of favoring host Binh Duong

Winning a point on the field of the reigning V-League champion, but coach Ngo Quang Truong is still not satisfied.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong at the press conference after the match. Photo: Duc Dong.

“The match is over, I don’t want to mention it again. But as everyone can see, the referee clearly made decisions that were favorable to Binh Duong,” Coach Ngo Quang Truong said indignantly at the press conference after the 1-1 draw in round 14 on the afternoon of July 4.

Before the match, SLNA was rated lower as they had to play away from home, against the defending champions who were in good form. Binh Duong’s squad also had many players who knew SLNA very well, such as Cong Vinh, An Van Hoan, Trong Hoang…

In return, coach Quang Truong and his team received very strong direct support. Thousands of SLNA fans from far away came to turn Go Dau stadium into "Thanh Vinh fire pot in the heart of Binh Duong" as the slogan they hung on the stands. This "12th player" gave a lot of strength to the Nghe players. They entered the match with determination, played hard and opened the score in the first minutes thanks to Dinh Toan.

“We would like to thank the audience for coming to the stadium to cheer for the team. They are the motivation for my players to have a good match,” coach Ngo Quang Truong said emotionally.

The situation where SLNA players protested against referee Cong Khanh, because he did not give them a penalty when Xuan Thang fell in the penalty area. In contrast, two SLNA players received yellow cards. Photo: Duc Dong.

Although the score was not maintained, the 1-1 draw helped SLNA end a streak of two consecutive losses. However, many players after the match were not satisfied with the controversial penalty call by referee Cong Khanh, in addition to inaccurate offside calls by the assistants.

Meanwhile, the home team’s coach Nguyen Thanh Son blamed the pressure from the audience. “In the first half, our players did not get into the rhythm of the game. In addition, the early goal made the players impatient to attack and play ineffectively. In the second half, although we tried harder, SLNA players defended fiercely so we could not score more goals,” said Mr. Son.

In addition, the captain of the defending champions admitted that many of his players were under pressure from the crowded audience of the away team: "In particular, the former players of SLNA did not play well when facing their former teammates and their former audience."

According to VNE