‘Rottweiler’ Queiroz muzzled over refs
SYDNEY: Iran coach Carlos Queiroz bit his tongue about Asian Cup referees yesterday under the watchful eye of tournament organisers following his outburst earlier this week.
Asked whether he had any concerns about the refereeing for today’s Group C game with Qatar, Queiroz confined himself to some sarcastic comments.
On Sunday, the former Real Madrid and Portugal boss launched into a tirade against the officiating of Australia’s Ben Williams in Iran’s opening 2-0 win over Bahrain.
“I don’t know if we’re entitled to give opinions about refs,” he said, turning to the press conference moderator for confirmation. “No? All right so I didn’t know that. Better not to comment.”
“It’s clear even if you talk politely, with respect, education, calm, cool, you’re not entitled to talk about the referees,” Queiroz added.
“After 32 years of my work in football I was never told I cannot give an opinion about the game. Maybe it’s only because of the sponsors,” he said, gesturing to the screen of brand names behind him.
Queiroz, nicknamed “Rottweiler” by Alex Ferguson during his times at Manchester United, did not hold back last week when he accused Williams of inconsistency over Bahrain’s “dangerous” play.
Iran could book their spot in the quarterfinals with a win against Qatar but Queiroz said he wouldn’t follow Australia coach Ange Postecoglou by rotating his players.
“My group is quite different from Australia’s. In our group we have four candidates with the possibility to go to the second round, so we cannot take chances,” he said.
In Canberra, United Arab Emirates coach Mahdi Ali warned his players not to rely too much on sparkling midfielder Omar Abdulrahman in today’s clash against Bahrain.
Abdulrahman starred in UAE’s opening Asian Cup 4-1 thrashing of Qatar.
The silky playmaker looked dangerous throughout, showing trickery and imagination as the Emiratis came from a goal down to run out clear winners against their Gulf rivals in Canberra on Saturday.
A win against Bahrain would all but see UAE progress to the quarter-finals from Group C. Ali expects 23-year-old Abdulrahman to shine again — but he called on every player to do their bit.
“Of course Omar is a talented player, he’s one of the main players in the team,” Ali said.
“I was very happy that he played 90 minutes against Qatar because he has come back after one-and-a-half months out injured.
“But we are playing as a team and Omar is a member of the team. For him to be doing his best and showing all his qualities and abilities he needs support from the team.”