Idman.biz
"Neftchi" Professional Football Club has released an official statement.
Idman.Biz reports, citing the club's official website, that the "white-blacks" stated that they faced serious referee errors in the 28th round of the Misli Premier League match between "Zira" and "Neftchi".
"In the 90+4th minute, Zira's goal was scored with a gross violation of the rules. Despite the fact that the opposing team's player, Ruan Renato, was in an offside position and blocked the view of Neftchi's goalkeeper Kenan Piric, the goal was registered by the main referee Inqilab Mammadov, and Nijat Ismayilli, who was sitting in VAR, did not intervene in this episode. This mistake not only led to another unfair loss of points for Neftchi in the decisive stage of the season, but also resulted in unfounded red cards being shown to head coach Yuri Vernidub, assistant head coach Dmitro Kara-Mustafa, and player Breno Almeida as a result of the disputes between the players of both teams after the goal and the events that took place on the field due to VAR's silence."
The statement said that on April 20, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of "Neftchi" PFK, the Chief Executive Director of "Neftchi" PFK, and other representatives of the club met with AFFA officials and the Chairman of the Referees Committee in the administrative building of AFFA: "At the meeting, our club protested the goal scored against us in the mentioned game and demanded that the unfounded red cards shown to our coaches and player be cancelled. It also strongly condemned the gross referee errors that have been repeated several times during the season and stated that many referees have shown an unfair and biased attitude towards Neftchi. Club representatives protested the wrong decisions made in the Zira-Neftchi game, demanded that these decisions be justified, and the answers given by the Chairman of the Referees Committee partially satisfied the club officials. We appreciate the Referees Committee's recognition that the referees of the Zira-Neftchi game made a gross mistake. However, we regret to say that the lost points will not be returned and this is not the first time this has happened this season. Once again, we associate the gross mistakes that have been repeated many times in Neftchi's games this season with the unfair and biased attitude of some referees towards our team, and we demand from the AFFA Referees Committee that the perpetrators be punished in the strictest form, that such cases be stopped, and that appropriate measures be taken to prevent them from happening in the future."
"As "Neftchi" PFK, we declare the following:
1. We demand an end to the purposeful, biased referee injustice against Neftchi;
2. We inform those who are conducting this campaign that they will not achieve their goals, and as "Neftchi", the oldest football club in the country, we will fight to the end;
3. Regardless of who is in front of us, it is enough that the great "Neftchi" community - the fans - are behind us;
4. Despite all the difficulties, "Neftchi" has been, is, and will continue to be the flagship of Azerbaijani football," the statement emphasized.
