The team’s press officer, Kyriakos Dimitriou, spoke to “Super Sport 104.0” about everything related to AEK.
He addressed the loss to Paphos and the “yellow-and-greens’” performance on the field and voiced his complaints about the refereeing—specifically the play in the 90+2′ when, in their view, a penalty was committed against Miramon and VAR should have intervened.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
We remind you that the referee for the match was Menelaos Antoniou and the VAR official was Marios Antoniou.
Here are his comments in detail:
On the match against Paphos: “It wasn’t the game we wanted. It was a derby, and it came down to the details. Paphos capitalized on the opportunity they found and won the game. In the second half, we improved, but the game was decided by a moment of collective inattention, and we were unlucky with the shot that hit the crossbar.”
On the lack of scoring chances: “That changes from game to game. It wasn’t a game where there were many scoring chances overall. In derbies, what counts is being effective with the opportunities you do get.”
On improvement: “Yesterday, Paleari, Olivan, and Andereggen made their debuts. It’s the third matchday, and we’re still bringing new players into the team. We want to improve, but we’ll get better with every game. The first person to say that is the coach.”
On the match against Omonia on May 29 and the break: “The most important thing is for us to get a result in Peristerona, and then, with the break, for the coach to be able to work and for the team to perform better. We’re focusing on our own game; they’re a tough team.”
On the fans: “I want to thank the fans who supported us.”
On the refereeing: “Yesterday’s game wasn’t easy. It was a classic derby with lots of protests, shouting, and physical play. In the 90+2′ minute, Gouga brought down Miramon from behind, and that was a call that would have changed the game. It’s in moments like these that VAR needs to step in. You simply can’t fail to intervene in a situation like that. We’re not going to dwell on the refereeing. This wasn’t the first time we’ve had issues with this particular VAR official. We’ll discuss it with the Cyprus Football Association (CFA).”
