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Perth Glory defender Dino Djulbic is facing the possibility of being rubbed out for the rest of the A-League season after allegedly spitting at referee Peter Green in today’s incident-packed defeat by Sydney FC.
The home side triumphed 5-2 at the Sydney Football Stadium to join Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United at the top of the ladder after three rounds of the competition.
But the victory was overshadowed by Djulbic’s 20th minute red card, with the Bosnian-born left back facing anywhere between a six-match to 18-month ban if found guilty of spitting at a match official.
The fiery 25-year-old was initially issued with a yellow card for dissent after vehemently disputing Green’s awarding of a penalty to Sydney, but was then shown a straight red after appearing to spit in the direction of the referee.
Teammate Jamie Coyne tried to defuse the situation by pushing Djulbic away from Green during his tirade, but to no avail.
Djulbic will now face an independent disciplinary committee this week to answer the charge.
Spitting at a match official is classed as a R3 (Red Card 3) offence according to Football Federation Australia’s national disciplinary regulations and carries a suspension ranging from six matches to 18 months.
Glory coach David Mitchell said he didn’t realise the magnitude of the offence until after fulltime but nevertheless gave the defender a dressing down at halftime for his ill-discipline.
“I didn’t know actually what it was until after the game and then I heard it was spitting,” Mitchell said.
“Whether he spat at the referee or spat on the ground, I don’t know, I’ll have to see the video footage to take it in and determine what happened.”
Asked his reaction to the send off, Mitchell said: “I’ll keep that internally, but I wasn’t impressed, which was what I said to him at halftime.
“I just felt he was a little bit indisciplined, and it cost us the game, and he’s let the players and the club down.”
The flashpoint came with the scores level at 1-1.
Sydney stand-in skipper Steve Corica was ruled to have been brought down in the box by Adriano Pellegrino, although even Corica admitted he would have to watch a replay to say whether it was a penalty.
“I did get hit, but I’m not too sure. I’ll have to have a look at it again,” said Corica.
Pellegrino claimed he got the ball, with Mitchell believing the decision was “a little harsh”.
It nevertheless proved the turning point as Corica converted from the spot and Sydney went on to score twice in the shadows of halftime to claim a match-winning 4-1 lead at the break.
As well as Sydney’s win, Djulbic’s alleged spit also overshadowed the long-awaited return of former Socceroo goalkeeper Mark Bosnich to professional football tonight, and yet another goal-feast in the competition this weekend.
Central Coast celebrated Bosnich’s first top-flight appearance in seven years with a 4-2 victory over the Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium, with those six goals – along with the seven from the Sydney-Perth clash – lifting the overall tally to a record-equalling 21 for the round.
After just five goals in the opening weekend, the A-League has now seen a remarkable 40 goals in the past fortnight.
Melbourne started the spree with a 5-0 win over defending champions Newcastle at the Telstra Dome on Friday, before Adelaide defeated Wellington Phoenix 3-0 at home on Saturday.
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