Rufer sees red as Nix cry foul
The Wellington Phoenix have two weeks to stew over the controversial red card handed to midfielder Alex Rufer before their next A-League match – a decision the referees’ boss has reportedly admitted they got wrong.
General manager David Dome said in a tweet last night that he had spoken to the referees’ boss, who admitted the officials got two decisions wrong in the club’s 1-1 draw with Macarthur FC on Saturday – referring the incident with Rufer to the video assistant referee in the first place, then sending him off.
The draw meant the Phoenix picked up their first points of the season, but after conceding an equaliser while down a man, they will still be searching for their first win when the Newcastle Jets visit their WIN Stadium home in Wollongong on January 24.
Whether Rufer will be available for that match is set to be a matter of intrigue this week, with Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay saying after the draw that they would be asking questions about Stephen Lucas’ decision to send him off following an intervention by video assistant referee Kris Griffiths-Jones.
Rufer appeared to be hard done by and Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater saying it was ‘‘the worst decision [he’d] seen’’ since the introduction of the VAR.
After stretching out and kicking the ball away from the feet of Denis Genreau, Rufer tumbled over and his legs caught the legs of the Macarthur midfielder, who was seeking to join his team-mates in a counter-attack.
His eyes were closed and there didn’t appear to be any intent, nor any recklessness on his part, but after looking at the footage, Lucas reached for his pocket and the red rectangle, having initially produced a yellow one, seemingly having judged it to be a case of Rufer lashing out.
Macarthur coach Ante Milicic shied away from the issue in his post-match press conference, saying he ‘‘actually didn’t see it’’.
Talay was restrained – a week after his frustrations late in the Phoenix’s loss to Sydney FC earned him a yellow card – merely labelling it as ‘‘very soft’’. He added that Rufer was ‘‘disappointed’’ because ‘‘he feels he’s done nothing wrong in that challenge’’.
Dome said in another tweet that he “would be extremely disappointed” if Rufer received a threematch ban, as is standard for violent conduct incidents, and they “would def[initely] look at appealing anything like that”.
He did not respond to requests for further comment on Sunday.
The Phoenix were the stronger side on Saturday before they went down to 10 men and Talay was pleased, all things considered, as he turned his thoughts to the visit from Newcastle in two weeks’ time.
‘‘[In] the last 20 to 25 minutes against Sydney and until the sending off today . . . we played some really good football, so that’s promising for us,’’ he said.
If Rufer does have to serve a suspension, Matt Ridenton is likely to come into the centre of midfield alongside Cam Devlin, who was a dynamo once again against Macarthur.