BRAZILIAN Marist defender Diego says referees officiating in the Telekom S-League are making too many mistakes in round one of the country’s elite football league.
The towering centre back told Star Sports on Thursday, playing in the TSL is very difficult because the officials are very poor.
“The playing level here is very difficult because the referees are very bad.
“Maybe they don’t know much about the rules since they are not applying the updated rules on the pitch,” he said.
Diego stressed he had played against Solomon Islands clubs in the OFC Champions league before but never since the cruel tackles from some players that cost his compatriot Marcelo sustaining a severe injury lately.
“We all make mistakes in football but we should take responsibility for our acts.
“I think it’s normal everywhere to make mistakes but here the officials miss too much which leads to injuries.
“Marcelo is with a broken leg, this shouldn’t happen on a football pitch.
“It’s difficult for him to play again in round two because he is feeling a lot of pain,” Diego explained his country man’s situation.
Star Sports understood Marcelo was injured when Marist edge Malaita Kingz 1-0 in the round one.
Diego who received a red card in their defeat at the hands of KOSSA stated there were decisions in the first round that didn’t go their way.
The former Amicale centre half added he is optimistic the defending champions still have a chance to retain the TSL title.
“Chances to be champions again is pretty much alive but it depends on the situation of the withstanding the bad judgement from the officials which I think went against us.
“As a team we will fight to keep the title as defending champions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marist will open the second round this weekend with another interesting fixture against Western United tomorrow.
By SIMON ABANA
