"Zira" drew 2:2 with "Neftchi" at home in the VII round of the Misli Premier League. The Portuguese goalkeeper of "Qartallar", Tiago Silva, gave an interview to futbolinfo.az after the match:
– Do you consider the one point earned in the game against "Neftchi" to be satisfactory?
– It was a difficult game. Both teams wanted to win. Two strong teams of the championship faced each other. Of course, we wanted to win, but it didn't work out. Nevertheless, both teams deserve congratulations for a good fight.
– Were you satisfied with the decisions made by the head referee Kamal Umudlu?
– The fact that the game stops so often makes football difficult. Sometimes referees want to be on television more than football players. We want to play, but they don't let us. We waited about 10 minutes for a decision on whether there was a penalty or not. Such cases should be resolved more quickly and fairly. For example, I am not sure about the correctness of the goal we conceded in the game against "Qarabag" in the IV round. But at that time, the referee made a decision very quickly. That is, even before VAR, the decision was already known. But this time we didn't see it.
– Why do you think so?
– Because it was "Qarabag". But I didn't see the same dynamics and decisions for "Zira" in this game. We respect "Qarabag", we rejoice in their success. Just like we rejoiced in the Champions League. But both in the Premier League and in Europe, we only want fair refereeing. I am sure that if this situation was in favor of "Qarabag", the referee would immediately say "goal" and then look at VAR. I just want everyone to be treated the same. I wish we had the same approach as to "Qarabag".
– So a decision was made in your favor in the 90+5th minute, but the "black and whites" and the majority of the football community considered it unfair. Was this decision correct?
– I understand the emotions of the fans. But there was foot stamping there. The referee made that decision because of that.
– What kind of atmosphere are you going into the national break with?
– Now is the time to rest. We are waiting for our football players who are going to the national team. I wish them success. After returning, games await us where we have to win.