He’s still not over it and he can’t apologise for it. Three days after Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat saw his side denied a last minute penalty against Brisbane Roar – a match they lost 1-0 – the emotion is still there.
It’s an incident surely replaying over and over in Muscat’s mind.
As Victory rolled the dice late in their semi-final, Mark Milligan surged into the box with the ball, clashing with fellow captain Matt Smith.
Milligan tumbled and while the hands of Victory players, staff and fans pointed to the air in outrage, referee Strebre Delovski didn’t point his to the spot.
Muscat told SEN radio he was still yet to move on.
“It’s still very, very raw,” he said.
“Life goes on, there’s a grand final going on this week.”
“But for the group … it’s still hard to take.”
“You keep thinking `what if?’ but at some point we’re going to have to move on.”
It cannot have helped that referee Strebre Delovski, accused on the final whistle of “bottling it” by Muscat, admitted his mistake.
“In hindsight, if I had it again, it was definitely a penalty,” Delovski said.
“You don’t get a replay or five – you have to make it there and then.
“I was the first to put my hand up after I saw the footage… it was a penalty.”
Muscat said he couldn’t bring himself to apologise for lambasting Delovski after the event.
“Naturally I’m caught up in the whole emotion of the thing… That’s how I am,” Muscat said.
“I can’t sit back here and think I wouldn’t do things differently.”
It was a staggering display of how passionately Muscat sees the game after a week as tough as imaginable in sport.
Starting the week one game from an A-League grand final and an unprecedented spot in the Asian Champions League (ACL) knockout round, Muscat’s side were denied by the barest of margins for both.
A nil-all draw in Korea left Victory just one goal shy of advancing in the ACL, then came the heartbreak against Brisbane.
But the caravan moves on and Victory now looks forward to adding Albanian forward Besart Berisha to the club following his last match for Brisbane Roar in Sunday’s grand final.
Muscat said an announcement on fellow Victory forward Archie Thompson would come in “the near future”.
“I want to keep him around the football club, he’s a club legend,” Muscat said.
AZ_RBB
Guest
The behaviour of managers at the top level in Europe is often deplorable. But it all adds to the drama of sport. Although I am growing a little tiresome of the ref bashing in every sport.
Bondy
Guest
AZ I agree he's relatively inexperienced in his position and will learn from that though Mourninho can go straight to camera after the match and call the ref in different words a cheat and he's hailed a football philosopher when they lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland. Would Kosmina have acted in a different manner ..
AZ_RBB
Guest
As much as I love to hate Muscat and MVFC I can completely understand his frustration. This is the first time he has been head coach of a team so naturally has a massive emotional investment in their fortunes. Well done to him for what he has achieved this season. 90% of people wrote him off after Ange left. Qualification to the ACL should be the aim next season.
Reginald Bomber
Roar Guru
Yes, he is right and Victory were robbed, because the referee himself admitted he made a mistake, but he should still apologise for his behaviour at the spur of the moment. Not a good example for a manager in his position.
redtotheend
Guest
Get over it Muscat. Which side won a final 1-0 when Adelaide United's Christiano was sent off? What goes around comes around.
TK
Guest
Isn't every penalty a new situation with equal chance of succes or failure irrespective of past performance? The comment was a tongue in cheek comment as Theo played well that night..catching 5 balls in a row without any sign of steel fingers. We put it down to him advertising his new keeping clinics. Its obviously still to raw for jokes on here.
fadida
Guest
I seem to recall a professional referee giving THREE yellow cards to a player in Germany '06. I could produce another 100 glaring errors from professional referees
tickbites
Guest
Thats obviously what i meant to say. And the Melbourne would have got the ball back while the ref was blowing his whistle, scored two goals at once and deservedly gone through to the final. Its such an injustice that the team that won the league by a ridiculous margin made the final, i get it.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"He would’ve passed to berisha and HE would definitely have scored." Excellent observation! And, the linesman would've flagged Berisha off-side & the ref would have blown full-time.
tickbites
Guest
"I’ve seen Henrique miss an open goal, without any GK to beat, from 5 metres. You’re kidding yourself if you think he’d have scored." AAdmittedly probably wouldn't have scored. He would've passed to berisha and HE would definitely have scored.
Ian
Guest
What a sook. I'll type it again - after the game you posted Brisbane deserved the win. Then after Mike Tuckerman's article where he said Milligan flopped on the ground you became a sore loser whining about Roar players flopping on the ground, Broich is now somehow a crap player, Matt Smith is the biggest cheat in football and MV were robbed of another title seemingly. How's that 2009 championship trophy looking from the ref's decision to send off a Reds player incorrectly? No complaints there I imagine. Then apparently MV players all acknowledge all their fouls honestly and transparently. Such as either Broxham or Troisi, having McKay pinned to the ground claiming McKay was holding them and Finkler falling over from a touch on the shoulder to get a penalty. These have slipped from your memory. you should focus on Melbourne Roar for next season instead. I'm looking forward to MV players knocking back all favourable penalties in the 2014-15 season. No doubt you will respond with 'perhaps Brisbane Roar will win an ACL game next year'
Griffo
Roar Guru
Agree clayts - it may just be the way his facial features re-arranges itself when he's saying a few kind words, but he was obviously giving a spray to Strebre from behind after the game, caught on camera, then moments later in interview mentioned that he did 'ask' Strebre and got nothing... Just for the respect and image the game says it likes to portray respect to referees I am hoping that was his one get-out-of-jail-free card used up. Otherwise I can see his reputation of getting away with fouls as a player following him into coaching here...
Brisvegas
Guest
Petulance of Glory proportions.
Brisvegas
Guest
" ... an incident that cost his team a place in a Cup Final ..." It was certain they'd score a penalty and then go on to win in extra time? Usually you insist on others being inscrutibly precise. Surely this should have the word 'possibly' in there somewhere.
Buck
Guest
A true cry by a fan if I've ever heard one!
Titus
Guest
Muscat and his team had, how many games to qualify for the finals? If he thinks that it all came down to that one ref call then he might not be cut out for football management.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I've seen Henrique miss an open goal, without any GK to beat, from 5 metres. You're kidding yourself if you think he'd have scored. Henrique would have probably fallen over to win a free kick; then Broich would've stepped up & put the ball neatly into Row Z of the stand behind the goal - an art he seems to have perfected to rival his triple somersaults.
Bondy
Guest
Interesting to hear Streb on radio suggesting refereeing is still semi pro in Australia which we all new or should've though FIFA in the past and at this World Cup uses referees from Australia to adjudicate on matches and not just run the line mind you. Australian referees will be given group matches consisting with players of the likes of Drogba Toure Kaka Balotelli .. We are an insane sport (http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/referee-display/Australian-trio-to-referee-at-2014-FIFA-World-Cup/83340).
Brick Tamland of the Pants Party
Guest
And on the flip side Mulvey needs to keep his mouth shut and not try to influence referees before a massive game like a GF.His comments that implying WSW somehow get the rub of the green with refs is out of order,all teams throughout a season will get their good and bad calls.
Mahler
Guest
Muscat - an ornament to the game. Just a great example to all the kids out there. OK even had he got the penalty and it was 1-1 - that didn't put MV in the final. They would have to slug out another 30 minutes and most of them were legless. Roar would have crushed them. And let me repeat my own anger at the way the game was ended with Henrique one on one with the goalkeeper. That would have made it 2-0.