Kota Kinabalu: Football great Datuk James Wong has questioned the standard of refereeing in the Malaysia Football League following Sabah FC’s Super League match with Sri Pahang that ended 1-1 last Sunday.He said he was among the many Rhinos supporters who were furious with the fouls carried out by Sri Pahang FC players that went unpunished by the match officials.
That includes two incidents committed inside the box which could have awarded two penalties to Sabah FC.
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In both cases, the referee was nearby when Jafri Chew and Darren Lok were shoved to the ground by the home defenders while Sabah FC were on the offensive.
“Anybody who saw the game will agree with me that the referee was standing just outside the penalty box when the fouls were committed.
“The Sri Pahang FC players purposely pushed our players when the ball was coming in. Don’t tell me that he (referee) is blind and couldn’t see the fouls.
“Sabah FC were obviously robbed of a potential three points and only the referee knows the real reasons for not awarding the penalties.
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“Instead he showed his authority and punished Datuk Ong (Kim Swee) and showed him the red card during the match,” he said after being approached on Friday.
He called on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to look into the matter so that the league could be improved.
“To maintain a good league and keeping a good flow of football in order to entertain the fans in this professional era, the match officials must be of very high standard.
“We must have quality referees who are able to interpret and enforce the laws of the game during a match, and not just engage those who merely passed their licence, otherwise it is back to the amateur era, which is a real shame,” he added.
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