Dambrauskas Criticized Refereeing After "Sabah" - "Qarabağ" Match;

After the semi-final match of the Azerbaijan Cup between "Sabah" and "Qarabağ" (2:1), the head coach of the home team, Valdas Dambrauskas, answered journalists' questions. Sport24.az reports that the specialist first shared his thoughts on the match:

– I congratulate the "Sabah" family. I dedicate today's victory to our fans. They supported us on the field today. It was a head-to-head fight between both teams. There was drama in the game. We tried to do our best on the field. In the first half, the opponent sometimes took control of the ball. The important moment in the game was the goal we conceded. Despite being in the minority, the opponent played well. We also fought to the end. We didn't give up. Thanks to this persistence, we won a beautiful victory. We will note this and start recovery from tomorrow. It is true that we reached the final in the cup. But we haven't won the cup yet and the final doesn't matter yet. The important thing is to win the title. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

– How would you comment on what happened at the end of both halves: both the red card and the possible penalty episode?

– I don't like to comment on referee decisions. I watched the episodes on the tablet. This is already the job of the referees, they should talk about it themselves. If we want the level of football in Azerbaijan to increase, the level of this refereeing must also increase and develop. I have worked in different countries. Frankly, I have never seen so much talk about referee decisions. The decisions of the referees are discussed every week. I believe that this will be talked about next week as well. Refereeing must also develop. Sometimes different decisions are made for the same episodes.

– The opponent in the final will be "Zira". You have had easy victories against them this season. What do you think now, will the final be easy?

– I don't think so. The final consists of one game. I have never seen an easy final in my life. I think we have to do our job and do our best for the title. We have seen good games from lower league clubs in the finals. The final day will be interesting. Whoever is stronger will win.