The team’s General Manager, Haris Theocharous, spoke to “SPOR FM 95.0” about everything related to Paphos.
First, he addressed the draw against Nea Salamina and emphasized that there are concerns about the team’s performance. He then revealed that they will file a complaint against the VAR, as they maintain that there was a clear penalty on Mamantov in the 86th minute.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Pavlenka: “I’ll be out for about 3–4 months”
He also spoke about the injuries, which are certainly having a negative impact, and regarding Sa Pinto, he emphasized that while the team may not be at its best, they haven’t forgotten all that he has contributed.
Here are his comments in detail:
On the draw with Nea Salamina: “We didn’t score yesterday. When you’re stuck at 0-0 for yet another game. Although Nea Salamina created a few chances, for most of the match we had the chances—some of them clear-cut—to score a goal. It was a tight game. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to pull it off.”
On the difficulty in scoring: “There’s definitely cause for concern, even if we’re creating chances. We need to work on that. We’ve seen players struggle to score in other games as well. We’re not scoring from any area of the field. As for our performance, we can definitely do better. We did enough to win yesterday. Sometimes, a game just doesn’t come down to performance.”
On the play where Paphos appealed for a penalty: “It’s a clear penalty. He stepped on our player’s heel—that’s careless play. I can’t understand why the penalty wasn’t called. We haven’t been awarded a penalty yet this season. When we won the championship, we had the fewest penalties awarded against us. I don’t want to sugarcoat things. We could have played better, we could have closed out the game sooner, but there was a clear penalty that could have changed the outcome of the match.”
On whether they’re certain about the play in Paphos: “I’ve watched the play 10 times, and to me it’s a clear penalty. It’s dangerous play on the counterattack. We’ve seen less dangerous challenges result in penalties. We’re a different team in the eyes of some. A week ago at the CFF meeting, they told us that the linesmen were misleading. There’s no confusion here; it’s a clear penalty. The VAR definitely should have intervened. The VAR worked in the first half, as some corner calls were corrected. We will file a complaint against the VAR, submit a report to the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), and await a response. We want them to explain the play to us. Of course, these complaints won’t amount to anything. But since we’re going to pay our dues anyway, we might as well get a response. We saw one of our goals disallowed, with the referee blowing the whistle before the goal was scored and then VAR being used. Perhaps it’s unfair that this referee doesn’t officiate games at a higher level.”
Looking ahead to the match against Apollon: “We have to score; we have to be better. We’re playing against a tough opponent on their home turf. They also have a very good team. We have to put the ball in the net. We’re the only ones who can turn this around. We win together and we lose together. That’s how this team works. The situation isn’t dire, but we don’t want to fall behind the leaders. We want to hit the reset button.”
On injuries: “They definitely have an impact; we’re keeping an eye on it. It’s a concern for us, too. We even had an injury yesterday. We saw Noro get injured in a collision. It’s important to have all our players available. We hope this run of bad luck, which started during preseason, will come to an end. Biel had a minor niggle. We took a risk and substituted him as a precaution. David Luiz also had a minor issue. There are some players who have minor problems; they’re carrying a heavy load.”
On Sa Pinto: “The coach arrived during a difficult period in April; he helped as much as he could and did everything possible to help the team win the cup, qualify for the League Phase, and win the Super Cup. In those four months, he achieved his goals. We won’t forget what he’s contributed. But we’re concerned about our performance—we need to keep our heads down, work hard, not talk too much, and prove ourselves on the field.”
