Highlights Referee Who Allowed Violations Against Samsul Arif During Persebaya Vs Madura United, Aji Santoso: That's 1,000 Percent Penalty

JAKARTA - Persebaya coach Aji Santoso highlighted the performance of the referee who led his team's match against Madura United in League 1 at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Stadium, Denpasar, Bali, Monday night.

"I don't want to judge the referee, let the public do it. But I saw a rebroadcast when Samsul Arif was violated, it was not a 100 percent penalty, but 1,000 percent," he said in a virtual press conference after the match, quoted by Antara.

The Persebaya match against Madura United was led by referee Agus Fauzan Arifin from DI Yogyakarta. The sharp spotlight fell on him after allowing Samsul Arif who was brought down in the penalty box by Fachruddin, as well as a tackle by goalkeeper Hong Jungnam to Ricky Kambuaya.

In that match, Persebaya won 2-1 so they were in the top four of the standings.

Bajol Ijo's goals were scored by Bruno Moreira in the 2nd minute and Alie Sesay in the 90+3 minutes, while the Madura United goal was scored by Beto Goncalves in the 28th minute through a penalty.

According to Aji, the Suramadu Derby was very tense and both teams created several opportunities.

Although grateful for the final result, the coach from Malang asked the referee commission to pay attention to several things that happened on the field, especially the momentum of the two times Persebaya players were violated in the forbidden box.

"The most fatal thing was when Samsul Arif was violated. I saw on the rebroadcast, the referee was standing two meters in front of the incident. I really couldn't believe the incident was allowed to happen," said Aji.

He hopes that PT LIB as the match operator and PSSI as the federation will pay more attention to this matter, especially ahead of the last matches of the season and the five teams fighting each other for the championship.

"We and several foreign coaches have complained about the referee's performance. Hopefully, in the future it will be better," said Aji.

"If the referee is fair and doesn't make many mistakes, we will accept the result with grace," added the living legend of Persebaya and the Indonesian national team.

Persebaya player Alie Sesay is grateful that his team got full points so that they remain on the championship track along with the other four teams.

"This win is very important and this is valuable capital to keep hope at the top," said the player who scored his first goal for Persebaya this season.

Meanwhile, Persebaya is currently in fourth place in the standings with 54 points from 28 matches. Madura United are stuck in 13th place with 30 points from 26 matches.

The points obtained by Persebaya are the same as Bhayangkara FC in fifth place, and Persib Bandung in third position. However, they still have one game left.

Meanwhile, the top position is still occupied by Bali United with 57 points from 27 matches, while Arema FC is in second place with 55 points from 28 matches.