The Turkish-born mentor said it is about time something was done to remedy the situation.
Ertugral was talking after the MTN 8 second leg match against Moroka Swallows
“Tackles are flying in left, right and centre but yet nothing is done to protect the players. This makes me angry as nothing is done to these referees. Look at what Da Silva (Moroka Swallows defender, Vinicius DaSilva) was doing to Torrealba, but nothing was done and he was never cautioned, not even once.
“I believe there were at least three instances where he should have been booked but nothing happened. He also stamped on Torrealba’s hands right in front of me, but nothing happened to him. This is making me very angry.”
Ertugral also blamed Torrealba for allowing his emotions to get the better of him.
“He did not only let me down, but he let the whole team down with his red card. He knows he should not have retaliated as two wrongs do not make a right. It is a huge setback for the club and I am very disappointed with this kind of behaviour. I will have a word with him about this and will then take it from there.”
Ertugral also praised the Birds for doing their homework well.
“Swallows really did well in closing us down, they cut our supply line and we were disastrous, especially in the second half. Swallows are really playing well and are a team to watch this season.” However, Ertugral’s counterpart at Swallows, Julio Leal said he never talks about referees, as that is not part of his job.
“Unless I am losing it, I never talk about referees. Referees are not my department. What is the use of talking about referees as the match is finished, they have the people that deal with them, not me.”
Though he was not happy for failing to reach the final, Leal said his team was improving.
“We are really improving as we are far better than before. We played well in terms of possession and passing, but we could not get it right in the final third. Our focus now is the league which kicks off this week.”
