CR Belouizdad coach Abdelkader Amrani has blamed the referee for his team’s 2-1 loss to Orlando Pirates in the CAF Champions League on Sunday.
Pirates secured their passage into the quarter-final following the win that sees them top Group C on 11 points, one ahead of Egyptian giants Al Ahly, with the defending champions having also sealed their place in the last eight.
Amrani was, however, not impressed by the performance of Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea as well as the ball boys at the Orlando Stadium, pointing a finger of blame towards them following his team’s defeat.
“I believe that we missed to equalise in the first half and in the second half also we missed an opportunity to equalise,” he told SABC after the clash.
Why is the Belouizdad coach unhappy?
“But overall, the referee was also not up to scratch and there were a lot of mistakes here and there that the referee missed, so the game was not good at all.
“I believe that the referee could’ve done better to make sure that the game is balanced. But at the same time, we missed the courage to attack, also to build up.
“I’m not saying that the home team was not good, they deserved to go through, but at the same time what the ball boys were doing – every two to three minutes there were breaks here and there, that was not good at all.”
The Algerians are now out of contention for a place in the quarter-final as they stay third on six points ahead of their final group match against Stade d’Abidjan.
