Danilo Pereira brands refereeing ‘very bad’ after Al-Ittihad held by Al-Kholood

Danilo Pereira has strongly criticised the refereeing after Al-Ittihad were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Kholood in the opening round of the Roshn Saudi League.

The Portuguese defender claimed several decisions had a direct impact on the result, including the awarding of a foul against him that led to his red card and the failure to give Al-Ittihad a penalty.

Speaking to the media after the match, Pereira said he believed Al-Ittihad should have been awarded a spot-kick after an incident inside the penalty area.

“Of course, the referee’s decision was wrong. We should have had a penalty after I was pushed from behind,” he said.

Pereira felt the decision denied Al-Ittihad a clear opportunity to score from the penalty spot, while he also questioned the punishment he received for the challenge that resulted in his dismissal.

The centre-back argued that the circumstances of the incident did not justify a red card, saying he had been focused on the ball and had not deliberately attempted to make a forceful challenge.

“The ball was high and my eyes were on it. The tackle was not intentional and there was not a lot of force used. There was not even full contact,” he said.

Pereira was particularly critical of the referee’s interpretation of the incident.

“I do not know what the referee saw in that situation. I will say it clearly: the referee’s decision was very bad,” he added.

The dismissal left Al-Ittihad with 10 players for the remainder of the game and made it more difficult for them to protect their advantage. Pereira acknowledged that going down to 10 men had changed the nature of the contest and placed greater pressure on his team during the closing stages.

“After I received the red card, it became difficult for us to get back into the game with 10 players,” he said.

Despite his frustration with the officiating, Pereira accepted that Al-Ittihad had opportunities to settle the match in their favour. He said the team had created chances but had failed to make the most of them.

“Even so, I believe we had chances to score, but we were not able to take them in the right way,” Pereira said.

The draw means Al-Ittihad began their Roshn Saudi League campaign with a point, while Al-Kholood also took a share of the points from the opening-round fixture.

Pereira ended his post-match comments by urging his team-mates to put the disputed decisions behind them and concentrate on their next assignment.

“This is football. Now we have to focus on the next match,” he said.