Pekerman’s frustration at referee after last-16 defeat
Colombia manager Jose Pekerman blamed refereeing interruptions and moaning England players for his team’s failure ro reach a second World Cup quarter-finals in a row.
The South Americans missed one penalty and saw another saved in the shoot-out to go down 4-3 after forcing the game to extra time courtesy of a lastgasp equaliser by Yerry Mina that saw them level the scores at 1-1.
But Pekerman said the constant complaining by England players to American referee Mark Geiger had affected the flow of Colombia’s game.
“There were many situations, as expected, and everybody knew the match would be like this and I think we have to try to defend football,” the Argentine said.
“Players fall in the box, they collide and fall. You have to try and stand in the shoes of these players. They are subject to situations which shouldn’t really be present in football.
“These interruptions are bad. When there are so, so many fouls and interruptions I think that’s not good. I think from the next match England will be much more careful.
England went ahead with a 57th minute Harry Kane penalty after the forward was wrestled to the ground but Pekerman said England’s players were constantly attempting to force decisions.
“A player fakes a foul, they are trying to get the referee to book another player,” he said. “There is a lot of confusion with this type of play. All those situations are determining situations.”
The game was bad-tempered and Geiger at times allowed players to get away with dissent. In total six Colombia players were booked to England’s two.
“We saw a difficult match and this does not mean that England have not done well,” Pekerman said, adding that his team had also failed to pose a greater threat in the area.
“It was very difficult to get into the match. There was a lot of rhythm and speed but as soon as the ball was in the box my players were not cool and composed. They were a bit afraid.
“We did not use our football to create more danger.”
Colombia were also missing injured talisman James Rodriguez through injury.
“One of our key players was not present,” Pekerman said. “In terms of creative football and finishing James is a decisive player. Unfortunately, he was not in top shape.”