PERAK coach Mehmet Durakovic and his Kedah counterpart, Aidil Sharin Sahak had nothing good to say about the heavy pitch at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Durakovic hinted that the poor pitch condition was among the reasons his team failed to win the FA Cup final on Saturday.
“Both teams tried their best to play attacking football but it was a pity that the pitch was soggy and moist after the rain,” said the Australian.
Aidil said: “In the first half, both teams could not play good football because of the field.
“However, things got better for us when we made changes to our game after the breather. As footballers, we need to adapt with whatever condition and try to perform well,” said Aidil.
Aidil and his captain, Baddrol Bakhtiar also praised the Japanese match officials (Takuto Okabe, Akane Yagi and Osamu Nomura) for doing a good job during the final.
“Okabe was fair and firm with his decisions. He did a good job and also did not stop the match frequently,” Aidil added.
Baddrol said: “Okabe did a fantastic job and we (Malaysian referees) should learn from him.”
Durakovic added: “I don’t see a difference between foreign and local referees. They are just doing their job. As coaches and players, we just have to accept their decisions.”
Perak goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy added: “Referees are just humans. They also make mistakes.
“I don’t agree that we should use foreign match officials... (now) outsiders might look at us differently.”