Selangor coach Mehmet Durakovic has lashed out at Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) players for not putting the ball out of play when his left-back Azmi Muslim lay sprawled on the pitch in Saturday's Malaysia Super League (MSL) encounter at the Shah Alam Stadium.
The match ended at 1-1, with defending champions JDT scoring their equaliser from the passage of play which immediately followed Azmi's rib injury after a collision with his own goalkeeper Norazlan Razali.
"Football needs fairplay. Azmi picked up an injury which looked nasty but the JDT players continued playing. I would have kicked the ball out in that situation if I was playing," said Durakovic in his post-match news conference.
"I don't want to comment on the referee. Everyone saw his performance. I feel JDT players should have been professional in the situation."
The incident in question happened just after the hour mark when Selangor were ahead 1-0 thanks to a goal by Indonesia international winger Andik Vermansyah in the very first minute. Azmi slumped to the pitch following his collision with Norazlan inside the Selangor box. The referee waved on play and JDT captain and midfielder Safiq Rahim unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box which crashed against the post. Southern Tigers' prolific former Argentina international striker Luciano Figueroa pounced on the rebound and blasted the ball into the net.
JDT's equaliser prevented Selangor's potential first win of the 2015 MSL season. The Red Giants lost their opener 2-0 against Terengganu on Feb. 7 and drew 1-1 with Malaysia Cup champions Pahang in their second game the following week.
"I'm happy with my team's performance. We dropped points because of a questionable goal. Everyone played hard and we were unlucky not to win the match," said Durakovic, who had lost his cool in the technical area during the game following a refereeing decision which went against his side in the 33rd minute.
JDT skipper Safiq had grappled with Selangor right-back Mohd Azrif Nasrulhaq. The referee did not caution Safiq but awarded a free kick in his favour, which had infuriated Durakovic.
Selangor are ninth in the 12-team league with two points after three matches, with JDT in seventh on four points.