Paphos played to a 0-0 draw with Nea Salamina at the “Ammochostos-Epistrofi” Stadium in a match for Matchday 7 of the Cyprus League by Stoiximan.
After the final whistle, Ricardo Sa Pinto ran toward Konstantinos Fella to voice his protests, which he also expressed at the press conference, “crying foul” over a penalty call against Mamantov. “They’re robbing our team of consecutive points,” he emphasized.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Live: AEK – Omonia
Nea salamina – Paphos (first half)
For his part, Ángel López was not satisfied with the single point, noting that his team could have earned all three points.
Here are the full statements:
Ricardo Sa Pinto (Paphos): “We played an excellent game. I’m very proud of the team, both defensively and offensively, but we didn’t score. And the referee didn’t call a penalty—a clear one. It’s unbelievable at this level with VAR. I have a player with a torn sock; he was kicked inside the box, in the penalty area. How can they not call a penalty? How can they not check VAR? How is this possible? How is this possible at this level? They make this huge mistake and cost our team consecutive points. This isn’t possible; it doesn’t reflect the reality of the game. We were better in every aspect: shots, chances, possession, control of the game—everything. Okay, we need to score; we had some chances we should have finished better, but they should have awarded the penalty—this is unbelievable. We’ll see what happens with this referee, because if we coaches get a red card or if I say something inappropriate, they’re constantly handing out penalties. If they make major mistakes that don’t reflect the reality of the game, what happens? It’s clear that this is how it keeps going. I hope next time they don’t make these major mistakes against us, because we’re tired of this situation.”
Ángel López (Nea Salamina): “We prepared to win the game. We prepared to go head-to-head with Paphos. We prepared for the game; we’re playing at home in front of our fans, in our stadium. We’ve built up momentum from our previous matches against Anorthosis and AEL in the cup, so we prepared for this match to earn the three points, and I believe we deserved them. But of course, we’re playing against a great team. I’m very happy with the players’ effort; I’m proud of them—all of them. I have 28 players, but only 11 can play, so it’s difficult for me because I’d like to give more opportunities to other players. I’m not happy with the result because I believe we played well and wanted all three points, but I’m definitely happy with the players’ effort and the atmosphere in Famagusta. It was incredible. We asked for it last week, and they came on Monday at 6:00 p.m.; the stadium was almost full—the main stand, too—so it was incredible for the fans; this will make things much easier.”
