Glory ALM coach Garcia blasts referees

Perth Glory coach Richard Garcia has given A-League Men referees an almighty whack, saying his players such as star striker Bruno Fornaroli are not getting their fair share of the decisions.

Glory are languishing on the bottom of the standings after suffering a 2-0 loss to Sydney FC at HBF Park on Saturday night.

Garcia was left befuddled by a series of non calls from referee Jack Morgan throughout the game, but there were two incidents in particular that left him fuming.

The first was the decision to allow play to continue in the 70th minute despite Glory midfielder Callum Timmins being clearly bumped while contesting a ball.

Sydney raced forward once they took possession and Patrick Yazbek scored the sealer.

Garcia’s anger grew when Fornaroli was issues a yellow card in the 87th minute for expressing his frustration at the referee, after being roughly manhandled by an opponent.

“When you’re down the bottom things don’t fall for you, and that’s including decisions,” Garcia said.

“They get a touch and they go down and get it (the foul).

“And then you’ve got someone who is hugging Bruno trying to take his shirt off him and then he (Bruno) gets a yellow card.

“I don’t understand how that isn’t a foul.

“And then you go down the opposite end and it’s a little nudge and it’s a foul.

“Should we tell Bruno to fall over? Maybe if he falls over he gets it.

“It’s something that has got to be put to the referees.

“You can understand his frustrations because it happens every game.”

Garcia believes Sydney’s second goal shouldn’t have stood.

“Callum is going to tackle him and he gets pushed away from the ball. I don’t know how that’s not interfering with play,” Garcia said.

“And then two seconds later, their guy gets a nudge from behind and drops and gets a foul.

“They’re the little ones that aren’t going for us at the moment.

“That’s something that’s continually happening to us at the moment, and it’s easier to do it to the guys who are down the bottom (of the ladder).”

Garcia said he was unlikely to talk to the referees about it.

“We’ve tried talking to the referees but they’ve got to see it the way they see it,” he said. 

“That’s down to the referee coaches and their assessors.”

Glory skipper Brandon O’Neill could miss the rest of the season after suffering a suspected AC injury to his left shoulder.

Perth will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Central Coast.