- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
There was exasperation and a whiff of conspiracy in the air as Melbourne Victory Kevin Muscat attempted to understand his side’s defeat to Melbourne City in their FFA Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
For the second time in 10 days, it was City that got the better of their cross-town rivals.
But for the first time in their October tangles, it was a contested result, and one that Muscat couldn’t accept.
Luke Brattan’s opening goal was the source of his ire.
The howitzer flew in past Lawrence Thomas but only after Tim Cahill – standing in an offside position – ducked out of the way.
The linesman’s flag went up but referee Shaun Evans eventually decided to award the goal, setting off Muscat.
“Timmy has to get out of the way otherwise it’s going to hit him … if you have to get out of the way of the ball travelling towards the goal I’d suggest you’re obstructing the keeper,” he said.
“I can’t see how there’s any other explanation.”
Deepening Muscat’s disgust, Marco Rojas’ second half goal chalked off for what Muscat said was the same issue – Besart Berisha appearing to stray marginally offside before the Kiwi headed home.
“There’s a contradiction here. They’re both exactly the same because (City goalkeeper) Dean Bouzanis can’t move until he realises Bes is not going to touch the ball.”
Evans told Fox Sports after the game that Cahill “didn’t interfere with the goalkeeper’s movement” so there was no reason to overrule.
As he raged on, Muscat also said City’s players were guilty of “lots of rolling around and lots of diving” and slowing the restart of play.
He said referees were using “two sets of rules” and exclaimed that “at least the FFA gets the result they want” as he exited the room.
For his part, City coach John van ‘t Schip offered no view on Brattan’s goal, because he didn’t have one.
“It’s maybe an answer that you hear all the time from coaches but I really didn’t see it,” he said.
Adding to Tuesday night’s controversy was the decision to award hosting rights to Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
Home sides have won both previous Cup finals, and City will take that advantage when they host Sydney FC on on November 30.
FFA cited a desire to “maximise attendance and broadcast numbers” in making the venue choice, despite the Sky Blues boasting consistently better home crowds than City.
AAMI Park also hosted last year’s final, which attracted just 15,098 people to the expensively-priced affair, won by Victory.
FFA have responded to that by slashing the cost of entry for the 2016 decider, with the cheapest ticket dropping from $40 last year to $22.50.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.