Western Sydney Wanderers head coach Alen Stajcic has shared his view on the red card he received in stoppage time of his side’s 3-2 win over Adelaide United on Friday night.
The Wanderers came from two goals down to win the five-goal thriller at Coopers Stadium, extending their unbeaten run to four games as Stajcic’s side continued to climb the Isuzu UTE A-League table.
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But Western Sydney will be without Stajcic on the touchline for their next fixture against Macarthur Bulls on New Year’s Day after the Wanderers coach was sent down the tunnel late in his team’s 3-2 win on the road.
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Referee Daniel Cook brandished the red card toward Stajcic in stoppage time having already handed the Wanderers coach a caution earlier in the second half.
Post-game, Stajcic said he believed his dismissal was due to him walking into the opposition’s technical area as he attempted to check on the welfare of star midfielder Dylan Scicluna, who had gone to ground after attempting to win the ball off Adelaide winger Yaya Dukuly.
Scicluna played out the remainder of the 11 minutes of stoppage time but Stajcic suggested the 20-year-old – who supplied the assist for Bozhidar Kraev’s winning goal – had suffered a potentially serious knee injury in the incident which led to tempers flaring between coaches and players from both sides at Coopers Stadium.
“I was actually animated because my player was down on the ground, and I suspected an injury and people (were) crowding around him,” Stajcic said post-game.
“And some of their staff were calling him a cheat, telling him to get up but he was actually seriously injured, and he might be out for a long time.
“It’s a pretty disappointing moment and a massive challenge for us now (to) possibly be without him for a long time, so we’ll get scans to check on that. But I was just worried about his welfare, to be honest.
“And I got sent off just for being close to the pitch. They said I was in their technical area – I didn’t think I was. I thought I was just there trying to see the condition of my player.
“We’re hoping he’s okay. But we’ll obviously confirm that during the week. He’s hurt his knee.”
Stajcic also expressed fears of a soft tissue injury to defender Gabriel Cleur who was substituted in the 79th minute of the 3-2 win over Adelaide. Both Cleur and Scicluna are expected to go for scans during the week to assess the extent of their respective injuries.
