“There were problems originating from the referee during the game. Because from the beginning of the match, he was giving minor fouls against us. In the eighth minute, a more serious problem occurred and the opponent scored a goal. Before the opponent's goal, both the linesman raised the flag and the main referee blew the whistle. Despite this, the opponent sent the ball into the net. After that, the referees discussed among themselves and decided that the goal should be counted. The footage of this is also available on ‘YouTube’. Better referees should be appointed for such games. ‘Sabah 2’ is playing against ‘Qarabağ 2’, and the opponent is the leader of the championship. Nevertheless, the referee makes such mistakes. I think AFFA should take this into account and assign a better referee to the game.”
According to Medianews.az, these remarks were made by Maksim Medvedev, head coach of Qarabağ's reserve team, in an interview with "Qafqazinfo". He spoke about the events that occurred in the 21st round of the Reserve League match in which they defeated ‘Sabah 2’ with a score of 2:1.
M. Medvedev clarified why he withdrew his team from the field at the 43rd minute of the match:
“At the 43rd minute of the match, the score was 1:1. An opponent player tried to send the ball into the goal by touching the ball with his hand on a corner kick that had been played, essentially attempting a Maradona-style goal. The referee saw that incident and judged it as a foul. However, he did not give a yellow card to the opponent player. Normally, such incidents should result in a ‘yellow’ card. Our player Sami Mmae protested to the referee, saying ‘You stopped the play; you should give a yellow card for that.’ But the referee, on the contrary, gave a yellow card to Sami Mmae. Later, Sami thanked the referee because the referee had given the yellow card to himself (meaning to the wrong person). Then the referee gave a second yellow card and sent Sami off the field.
Our management was also present there. I told them, ‘This is impossible, such a thing cannot happen.’ Every time we play against ‘Sabah’, these kinds of incidents occur, and decisions are made against us. In the previous game, our player received a red card. The referee noted in the protocol that ‘the player spat on me’. But the footage is on ‘YouTube’ and when you watch it, it shows that our player was 30 meters away from the referee. I cannot understand how a player could spit from 30 meters away? Such decisions cause scandals.
After the red card given to Mmae at the 43rd minute, I said that if the opponent needs 3 points, we will leave the field, and the points can be theirs. We headed to the locker room. The director of our team also came, and complaints were made to the referee-inspector Ömər Paşayev.
Ö. Paşayev himself was shocked by the refereeing; he did not know what to say. Then our director came and told us to come back out and play. We returned to the field and started playing. We scored a goal from a corner and won 2:1. It is normal that after the game things got heated, some things happened. When we entered the changing room, we heard noises from ‘Sabah’s’ dressing room, there was a fight there, and the police entered the room. Someone had broken the stadium’s glass. But what happened in the opponent’s dressing room had nothing to do with us.”
Regarding the news about two players being taken to the police station, the coach said: “I think they were not the players, they were other people. I do not know who they were. However, those people were the ones who instigated conflicts during and after the game.”
M. Medvedev added that they have repeatedly faced poor refereeing in reserve games:
“In general, this is not the first time such a situation has happened. Such incidents have occurred many times, but this is a reserve team. We want the development of the players and try to contribute to them. Even if results are achieved here, nothing will change. What difference does it make if we become champions in the reserves? What will change there?
Qarabağ has the youngest reserve team. We give chances to players born in 2007-2008 to gain experience. They help the national teams. But with such refereeing and decisions, their development is harmed. I am ready for any sanctions AFFA might impose. What difference will it make? Who and how appoints these referees?! Such unclear decisions are made in our games. I do not understand the purpose. Qarabağ is the team that provides the most players to the national team today.
Many players from our lineup and youth groups are called to the national teams. Such psychological blows should not be dealt to these players. They endure hardships on the field and try to improve themselves, but such things happen against them. Then I myself hesitate to say anything to a player or give any instructions.
These players put their heads down on the field and get injured. But their efforts are crushed by such decisions, and then it is difficult to rectify the psychological condition of that player. When confronted with such situations, they lose motivation. Even though we have repeatedly complained to AFFA, it has been of no use.
We complained and provided footage regarding the player who was penalized for spitting, but he was fined a thousand manat and disqualified for four matches. Nothing changed. It is interesting that such incidents occur at critical moments. In regular games, refereeing is done very well, but at critical moments, such unclear decisions are made.”