The Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s Referees Committee has issued its official response to the allegations made by Al-Nassr’s Croatian midfielder, Marcelo Brozovic, and the club’s coach, Luis Castro, following their team’s 3-2 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on April 8, 2024.
The match, held at Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, saw Al-Hilal emerge victorious with goals from Salem Al-Dawsari, Malcom, and Saud Abdulhamid. Al-Nassr’s goals came from Cristiano Ronaldo and a late strike from Brozovic himself.
In the aftermath, Brozovic was quoted saying, “The referee (Tony) and the VAR official (Yaissle) should go back to school.” Coach Luis Castro echoed the sentiment, stating, “We lost to the referee. He was not fair.”
The Referees Committee has now completed its review of the match officials’ performance. In a statement released on Thursday, the committee confirmed it found no errors in the application of the laws of the game by referee Tony or VAR official Yaissle that would have affected the outcome of the match.
The committee’s report emphasized that all key decisions, including penalty calls, offside rulings, and disciplinary actions, were correctly applied according to the match footage and the available technology. The statement concluded that the officiating crew’s performance met the required standards for a match of such importance.
This ruling effectively dismisses the public complaints from Al-Nassr and closes the file on the match’s officiating controversy. The focus now shifts back to the pitch, with Al-Hilal advancing to face Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup final on April 11, 2024.
