Omani coach lashes referee
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Coach Gabriel Calderon has cried foul play as Oman's Asian Cup chances all but evaporated in a 2-0 defeat to co-hosts Thailand.
Calderon was upset with South Korean referee Lee Gi-Young, who issued four yellow cards to Omani players in the first half.
The former Argentine international became animated when he was asked to comment on the referee's display.
"Good question," he said and then launched into a spirited attack on the match officials.
"For me, it's clear, no fair play. The referee not fair play," he said through an interpreter.
"We had four yellow cards and Thailand had zero. The linesmen always say offside to Oman.
"There was a foul before Thailand's first goal against us and we had a corner not given, the Thai players know that and the referee said no.
Despite Calderon's protestations, Oman were a few notches below the level they showed in outplaying Australia in a 1-1 draw last Sunday.
They were under pressure for most of Thursday's match, with the Thai midfield working hard in the evening heat and buoyed by the urgings of their home crowd.
Calderon trotted out plenty of excuses for the defeat.
"We have three finals. We draw the first, we lose the second and we have to play in the third," he said.
"We have six players with cramp before the game and Thailand had one more day's rest than us.
"You have to know that Omani players had three weeks holidays and only one month training, so we could not have a good level of fitness for this tournament.
"The other teams didn't have holidays like us."
Calderon must now regroup his players for their last tilt at the quarter-finals with their final group match against Gulf rivals Iraq here on Monday.
-AFP
