'They won a trophy after 12 years because of a refereeing error', Sergio Lobera slams East Bengal's complaints

In a fiery pre-match press conference ahead of their clash against East Bengal FC, Odisha FC Head Coach Sergio Lobera did not hold back, pointing fingers at East Bengal for winning a trophy "due to a refereeing error." Lobera's remarks come in the wake of ongoing complaints about refereeing standards and management in Indian football.

Lobera expressed his team's focus on self-improvement, stating, "The focus is in ourselves, not in the opponent team. There are things we can manage, try to improve every game, try to grow as a team every week working on the training sessions, competing on the games, and this is our concern." He emphasized that the concern should not solely be on the opponent team but also on referees, mentioning East Bengal's consistent pressure on match officials.

He did not mince words when referring to a past encounter with East Bengal, stating, "If we remember the last game against them, one trophy was for them because of a big mistake by the referee. They are humans, they can do mistakes. There are no problems about this, but we need to try to help them."

This public critique from Lobera is in the wake of East Bengal's Head Coach Carles Cuadrat, who also spoke out against poor refereeing standards and the handling of complaints by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) couple of days ago. Cuadrat had voiced his frustration in recent press conferences, highlighting the disparity between how coaches are penalized versus referees for mistakes.

"Four coaches in the current ISL lost their jobs because of bad results. While the Referees are not penalized for their wrong decisions," Cuadrat lamented. He further suggested solutions, saying, "My solution is to talk with managers and coaches. Another solution is to bring in foreign referees."

Odisha FC are currently on top of the table and they will take on East Bengal FC at the Kalinga Stadium tomorrow.