Ceres Negros v Johor Darul Ta’zim AFC Cup fixture last night sure did stir up social media!
Johor Darul Ta’zim were controversially knocked out of the AFC Cup after Ceres were awarded a last-minute penalty. The penalty was given after Aidil Zafuan fouled Ceres’ Rodriguez following a corner.
Consequently, Farizal Marlias lost his cool and angrily made his way towards the referee to question the penalty. His vehement protests was met with a red card, especially since he laid hands on the referee.
Tempers flared everywhere as JDT players also tried to convince the referee to undo the decision on the penalty.
Eventually, Ceres’ Fernando Rodriguez converted the spot kick and brought the score up to 2-1 on the 92nd minute, much to the dismay of JDT players and Malaysian fans.
JDT’s head coach Benjamin Mora is no exception — he confessed this morning that he is extremely upset about JDT’s loss and exit from the AFC Cup, especially since Ceres scored the winning goal during injury time.
“I’m still sad because we wanted the victory. When you lose in the final minute, for me it was painful because we were so close to winning.” Mora said.
When asked about the controversial penalty decision, Mora said he will go with what the referee decided.
“My opinion on the penalty awarded to Ceres is that the referee said it was a penalty. That’s all I’m going to say.”
This is what some of you said about the penalty:
Ceres Negros are through to the AFC Cup Zonal final, and will face Singapore’s Home United in August.
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