PETALING JAYA: Sabah coach Jean-Paul de Marigny did not want to sound like a sore loser but he insisted that there were a few incidents in the FA Cup final that were questionable.
De Marigny refrained from openly criticising referee Kamil Zakaria Ismail but could not hide his disappointment, particularly over two incidents that he felt could have deflated Sabah’s players.
The first incident involved Ajdin Mujagic’s 25th-minute goal, which was disallowed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review showed he had pushed Natxo Insa beforehand.
Had the goal stood, it could have lifted Sabah’s spirits, who were trailing 3-0 at the time.
The second incident involved Miguel Cifuentes, who received a second yellow card for allegedly fouling Jonathan Silva.
De Marigny, however, felt it was Cifuentes who had been fouled, citing the body positioning during the collision.
“I don’t really like to talk about referees – it’s a difficult job – but from my perspective, both incidents felt a little strange. We scored a very nice goal, and to have it taken away from the team and the player, for me, is quite disappointing. That was the first moment,” said de Marigny.
“The second incident also felt very odd because the player was actually in front of a defender. Personally, I thought it should have been a yellow card for the opponent, but it wasn’t. You can make of it what you will.’’
At the same time, de Marigny insisted that his decision to replace Damien Lim with Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in the 73rd minute was not out of the ordinary.
“Khairul is an icon of Malaysian football. He has played over 60 games for his country and is an even better person off the field. I think that’s a valuable lesson for Damien, but it’s up to him whether he takes it or not.
“I felt Damien showed very good decision-making and distribution at times, but that is something he still needs to develop.
‘’In the situation during the game, I rewarded Khairul because he is a top professional.
‘‘However, I thought Damien’s reaction was poor,” he added.
