Malaysia head coach Nelo Vingada has not avoided the mince words for Australian referee Christopher Beath’s, who handled the Asian Cup Group B qualifying match between Malaysia and Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Beath’s series of controversial decision included sending off Malaysia defenders Rizal Ghazali and Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak in stoppage time, and rewarding a late penalty to Hong Kong.
“Nobody kicked or boxed the referee. It was a normal reaction as we are human beings. If this was in Egypt or in Iran, the referee would have problems leaving the stadium. We are very kind here,” the Portuguese coach said during the post-match conference, as quoted by The Star.
“Players make mistakes, I make mistakes and the referee also make mistakes. Usually when a player or a coach makes a mistake, they could be sent off. But when a referee makes a mistake, they could still be in charge of the next game,” added Vingada.
Malaysia’s next match will be against North Korea in Pyongyang on 5 October.