Brisbane Roar head coach Michael Valkanis has lamented referee Daniel Elder’s decision not to send off Wellington striker Ifeanyi Eze during his side’s 2-1 loss to the Phoenix on Sunday.
Roar took a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time when striker Justin Vidic cooly dispatched his effort over the head of Wellington goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi following a defensive mix-up from the home side.
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Japanese midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa dragged the Nix back on level terms in the 76th minute before winger Carlo Armiento fired home a dramatic late winner with just seconds left of the contest at Sky Stadium.
However, the turning point in the contest arguably came just before the hour mark when Wellington striker Eze appeared to lash out at Roar defender Youstin Salas off the ball, with the Nigerian given just a yellow card for the incident.
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It’s a decision that certainly left a bitter taste in Valkanis’ mouth.
“There’s no VAR…. is there no VAR?
A sarcastic Brisbane Roar head coach Michael Valkanis on the Eze incident
“Because when I look at it on the screen now, and what I saw from the ground, yeah, that’s a red card.
“But we’re the physical team. I forget this. The word out there is, we’re the physical team…
He added: “And sometimes maybe they forget to look at what’s happening to us. I don’t want to speak about that.
“That’s not to blame, but it would have had a consequence on the game and the way they would have gone about (it), what they would have had to do if they lost the player.
“I don’t even want to discuss this anymore because it’s becoming a weekly thing.
“What they should do is just make a TV show like they do in Europe, and they critique refereeing decisions, and you make them accountable.”
Check out Valkanis’ post-match press conference in full below:
