'We need to talk about this': Markus Babbel lashes 'blind' FFA on refereeing
Western Sydney coach Markus Babbel has criticised the quality of refereeing in the A-League, saying Football Federation Australia are “blind” if they can’t see there is a problem. Babbel was left fuming after his side suffered a 4-3 loss to Perth Glory on Sunday following a soft penalty decision in the dying minutes.
Referee Kurt Ams pointed to the spot in the 86th minute after judging that Glory striker Andy Keogh had been held by Wanderers defender Brendan Hamill. But replays showed Keogh initially had an arm around Hamill as well while he was backing into the Wanderers defender.
Former Perth player Jamie Harnwell labelled the decision as soft, but the VAR did not overturn the decision because it did not view it as an obvious error. Juande scored from the ensuing penalty in what proved to be the winning goal.
Babbel did his best to contain his anger after the match, but the German was keen to use the example to further highlight what he views as a deep problem with refereeing in the A-League.
“The quality ... it’s not good enough,” Babbel said. “You have experts, many people talking about this fantastic sport, [but we need to] talk about this as well, because this is a problem.
“This is what I don’t understand – now you have help with the VAR, and even then you do so many mistakes. It’s very hard to accept, especially if you have a team on the pitch like today with so many young players that deserve more.”
When asked whether he would like to raise the issue with the powers that be at FFA, Babbel replied: “If they don’t see it, then they’re fucking blind. They have to see it, they have to do something, because the quality is not good enough.
“For me, it’s too many mistakes. You can see it. I don’t know what’s going on [in] they’re heads. They’re making decisions, you can’t understand this. It’s very hard to accept. I think it’s a good time for all the experts in the league to talk about it. Because if you’re not talking about it, nothing will change.”
Glory coach Tony Popovic refused to be drawn into the debate. “I’m not really concerned. It’s not really something that I feel I need to talk about it,” Popovic said. “I’m sure VAR’s there for that. So if it [the penalty] wasn’t clear, it would have been overturned.”
Glory’s win ensured they stay six points clear of Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory at the top of the table. Western Sydney’s fourth straight loss means they are 10 points adrift of sixth spot.