Australian coach Ric Charlesworth was furious to see the “umpiring errors” in his team's crucial hockey World Cup match against Spain at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Saturday.
Earlier, Charlesworth had raised objections against the ‘poor' standard of umpiring in Australia's first match against England.
After the hard-fought win against Spain, he said, “Of the seven penalty corners against us, three were bad decisions and I am very angry about it. These factors are forcing us to play better.”
Charlesworth said the wrong choice of the video referral prevented his side to challenge the umpiring decisions later.
“This is one of the problems with the game. When so many players fight it out at a little space, it becomes very very difficult for the umpires. I have great sympathy for the umpires,” the Aussie said.
Charlesworth, who asked Graham Reid to handle the Australian team on his behalf and watched the match from the stands, demanded review of the referral system. “These things hurt you. It needs to improve, it should be polished. But I support it,” he said.
Spanish coach Martin Dani admitted that his team was out of the race for the semifinals after the defeat. “Now we want to finish at the next best place,” Dani said, agreeing that the loss to Pakistan proved costly for the team.
Big turnaround
South Africa's 4-3 victory against Pakistan was a big turnaround for the African nation, which had suffered a humiliating 0-12 loss to Australia the other day. “We cannot hold on to that for a long time. Today we were much more disciplined,” the South African coach, Gregg Clark, said.
Pakistan's star drag-flicker Sohail Abbas said his team did not put up a well-coordinated effort. He was unhappy with his own form too.
