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ARMENIA SOCCER BOSS: PROTEST LODGED AGAINST SPANISH REF'S DECISIONS IN DUBLIN
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
13.10.11 | 11:43
Ruben Hayrapetyan
Armenia has protested the "poor refereeing" by a Spanish official
during the crunch Euro-2012 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland
in Dublin earlier this week that many say has cost the nation a
playoff slot.
President of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) Ruben Hayrapetyan
personally wrote on the wall of his Facebook page late on Wednesday
that the Armenian soccer authorities had taken the step.
Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, the main referee of the match at the
Aviva Stadium in Dublin on October 11, showed a red card to Armenia's
goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky in the 26th minute of the first half
for handballing outside the penalty area, an offense for which the
veteran player was sent off the pitch.
Replays, however, showed Berezovsky blocking the shot with his chest.
Moreover, an Irish player appeared to have himself handled in
controlling the long ball before shooting, making Berezovksy's
purported foul a moot point.
The match eventually went 2-1 to the home side, with Armenia going
out of the tournament - and out of hopes of fulfilling a historic
rise in post-Soviet Armenian football.
In his message to the fans, Hayrapetyan did not elaborate on the
formal filing of the protest, saying only that the Armenian Federation
was more interested in clearing Berezovksy of the red card than in
"punishing the ignorant [ref]". Apart from immediate trouble at
the pitch, a red card also means that the player misses the next
game or games depending on a further decision by disciplinary
bodies. If the penalty is upheld, it would mean Armenia would be
without its veteran goalkeeper when it embarks on the World Cup
qualifying campaign next September. To rescind the red card would
implicitly admit an officiating fault. Soccer's governing body UEFA
is no doubt not eager to face whatever further fallout that surely
would be stirred, considering the magnitude of the game's result -
particularly for Armenia.
At the same time, FFA chief Hayrapetyan cooled the talk about a
"foul play", by UEFA that some in Armenia claimed had encouraged a
refereeing favorable to the Irish team to offset the devilish referee
mistake in 2009 that left the Boys in Green outside the World Cup
when Ireland drew against France in a playoff in Paris and went out
on two-leg aggregate.
On his Facebook page the FFA chief also praised the team for its
quality performance and thanked Armenia fans for supporting the team
even in hard times.
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
13.10.11 | 11:43
Ruben Hayrapetyan
Armenia has protested the "poor refereeing" by a Spanish official
during the crunch Euro-2012 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland
in Dublin earlier this week that many say has cost the nation a
playoff slot.
President of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) Ruben Hayrapetyan
personally wrote on the wall of his Facebook page late on Wednesday
that the Armenian soccer authorities had taken the step.
Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, the main referee of the match at the
Aviva Stadium in Dublin on October 11, showed a red card to Armenia's
goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky in the 26th minute of the first half
for handballing outside the penalty area, an offense for which the
veteran player was sent off the pitch.
Replays, however, showed Berezovsky blocking the shot with his chest.
Moreover, an Irish player appeared to have himself handled in
controlling the long ball before shooting, making Berezovksy's
purported foul a moot point.
The match eventually went 2-1 to the home side, with Armenia going
out of the tournament - and out of hopes of fulfilling a historic
rise in post-Soviet Armenian football.
In his message to the fans, Hayrapetyan did not elaborate on the
formal filing of the protest, saying only that the Armenian Federation
was more interested in clearing Berezovksy of the red card than in
"punishing the ignorant [ref]". Apart from immediate trouble at
the pitch, a red card also means that the player misses the next
game or games depending on a further decision by disciplinary
bodies. If the penalty is upheld, it would mean Armenia would be
without its veteran goalkeeper when it embarks on the World Cup
qualifying campaign next September. To rescind the red card would
implicitly admit an officiating fault. Soccer's governing body UEFA
is no doubt not eager to face whatever further fallout that surely
would be stirred, considering the magnitude of the game's result -
particularly for Armenia.
At the same time, FFA chief Hayrapetyan cooled the talk about a
"foul play", by UEFA that some in Armenia claimed had encouraged a
refereeing favorable to the Irish team to offset the devilish referee
mistake in 2009 that left the Boys in Green outside the World Cup
when Ireland drew against France in a playoff in Paris and went out
on two-leg aggregate.
On his Facebook page the FFA chief also praised the team for its
quality performance and thanked Armenia fans for supporting the team
even in hard times.