A furious Paulo Sousa said his Shabab Al Ahli side deserved to be in the AFC Champions League Elite final but had been denied by a referee who was not “up to the quality of this tournament”.
The UAE champions crashed out in bitter fashion after losing 1-0 to Machida Zelvia, of Japan, in Tuesday night’s semi-final in Jeddah.
In stoppage time at the end of the game, Guilherme Bala scored a thrilling goal from long range.
As the Shabab Al Ahli players and staff celebrated a goal that they thought would send the game into extra time, there was a long check by the video assistant referee.
It was unclear what the check was for. There had been no foul play in the lead up to the strike, and no potential offside, as Bala’s strike had been from long range, with plenty of players in front of him.
It became apparent that the VAR was checking whether the throw in which had restarted play, in the right back area at the start of the move which had led to Bala’s goal some time after, was being checked.
After multiple replays, the on-field referee, Shaun Evans, ruled that the throw in had taken place a split second before Machida had fully completed a substitution.
As such, the Australian official ruled out the goal. Shortly after, he blew for full-time, and Shabab Al Ahli’s contingent were understandably enraged.
Evans did not wait in the middle for the customary post-match handshakes. Instead, he headed in the direction of the tunnel straight away.
Shabab Al Ahli’s players rushed to confront him, and Hamad Almeqbaali, their livid goalkeeper, was shown a red card in the melee.
Evans had long since lost control of the game, brandishing a number of yellow cards to various members of either bench, even before the final VAR incident.
He had to be escorted from the field by security personnel, and a member of the small group of Shabab Al Ahli supporters near the tunnel threw a bottle of water in his direction as he made his hasty exit.
Sousa said the organisers had made a mistake by appointing Evans for the fixture.
“There was a goal that was scored and then it was cancelled, this is a very technical mistake by the referee,” Sousa said.
“Unfortunately, this is what is turning football into rubble. It was a big mistake to choose this referee for this match. We deserved to be in the final and we deserve to play this important game.”
It was the second goal by Bala that had been chalked off. As the Dubai side pushed to equalise the first-half strike by Yuki Soma, Bala headed into the Machida net at the start of the second half.
It was ruled out for offside, and the decision was upheld after a video review.
Earlier, Evans had awarded a penalty for Machida, for what he perceived to be a foul by Shabab Al Ahli’s captain Federico Cartabia, only to be suggested to overturn it by the VAR.
Sousa said he did not think it was possible to make an official protest, but that his club had been let down.
“Legally, I don't think so,” Sousa said. “What saddens me is the organisation choosing referees who aren't up to the quality of this tournament, these players, and the coaches present.”
The goal which ultimately sent Machida through to Saturday’s final against Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli was of Shabab Al Ahli’s own making.
Bogdan Planic, their centre-back, underhit a back-pass, and Soma stole in to score past Almeqbaali.
“The game is quite simple to describe; we made a mistake that cost us a goal, after that, we practically controlled the entire game,” Sousa said. “Not only in possession but also with several clear goalscoring opportunities, goals that we scored.”
