Goa coach Zico lambasts referee for denying penalty

Margao:  Slamming referee Ravshan Iramatov for denying his side a penalty, baffled FC Goa coach Zico has questioned the wisdom of putting the controversial Uzbekistani at the helm of the crucial Indian Super League (ISL) second leg semi-final play-off match against Atletico de Kolkata.
Zico said he failed to understand why the same person, who had given a controversial penalty against his team in the group stage against the same opponents, was asked to officiate the important match.
Goa lost the match 2-4 on penalties to bow out of the competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium Wednesday. “We had many chances during the game, like the penalty that was not called by the referee. I didn’t understand why this referee was called, since he was the referee who gave a penalty to Atletico against us in Kolkata,” the Brazilian legend said Wednesday.
“Such mistakes cannot be made in games like these. In the last match, Bruno Pinheiro was given a red card and today we were not given a penalty.” Atletico defender  Mondal brought down Goa’s Brazilian recruit  Santos inside the penalty box in the 56th minute, evoking a strong shout from the Goa bench but it was swiftly turned down. “It is always sad after we face a defeat, but we have to put on a strong , because we have worked very hard,” Zico said. (PTI)