Lugano 3-2 Red Star: Riera Complains About Referees
Red Star led 2-1 in Lugano until the 84th minute, and Lugano won it with a 90th-minute penalty. Riera wants the club to investigate the refereeing, Terzic backs the coach.
The first words Albert Riera said after Lugano 3-2 Red Star were not about football but about suspension and referees. The Red Star coach told the press conference in Lugano:
“I don’t want to be suspended, I demand that the club investigate what is happening to us. Because of the penalty we are not in the Europa League. I won’t talk about football. This is my club, I want to compete. Maybe UEFA doesn’t want us in Europe, let them say why.”
Mozzart Sport’s report from the press conference notes that the penalty in the 90th minute appeared to be correct. That penalty decided the match: Red Star led 2-1 until the 84th minute and then conceded twice. According to RTS, the penalty for 3-2 was conceded by Badjo, one of the players Riera brought on from the bench.
It was the first Conference League appearance for the red-and-whites, who arrived in the competition after being knocked out of qualifying by Hapoel Beer Sheva and Viktoria Plzen. The first round of the league phase was played on Thursday, October 15.
What did Riera say about the game itself?
Asked about the performance, Riera first praised his team. “In some parts of the match we played a masterclass. There was only one team on the pitch,” Riera said, then added: “We were not good physically and I can tell you that.” On the referees, he repeated that it “hurts me that the referees are doing this to us in Europe for two matches now”.
On his own responsibility and the chances missed while Red Star were in front, he said:
“I am frustrated and disappointed, but I am happy with the play of my boys. At 2-1 we had chances to finish the game. Bamba had a chance from three meters, that was when we could have finished the game. I would have congratulated the opponent if they had been better.”
Asked whether Red Star had underestimated the hosts, he answered briefly: “We did not underestimate Lugano, we don’t underestimate anyone.”
What does Lucic say about the mistakes?
Vladimir Lucic sees the cause of the defeat in Red Star’s own errors. Describing Lugano’s first goal, he said: “Then that naivety of ours happened, one mistake because of which we conceded the first goal.” On the chance of Bamba Dieng, which Riera also mentioned, he said: “Maybe we were punished in the end for that miss, but we are the ones to blame for the defeat.”
Asked whether the team will show character against Copenhagen, he answered: “Yes, you will see it.”
What did Terzic say at the Milan airport?
Managing director Zvezdan Terzic spoke after the team’s return and stood behind the coach. “What Riera is doing is the right way, he just needs to keep going like this, he has full support,” he said, and confirmed that Riera has a two-year contract. On Katai, whose absence we wrote about before the match, he said the suspension has been served: “Katai is back in the squad, he has served his ban.”
He spoke about the penalty differently from Mozzart Sport: “The penalty was given too harshly, but it is the last minute after all, and FIFA and UEFA have clearly suggested that there are no easy penalties.” He still named the mistakes: “Gudelj for the first and Gastarov for the second goal are the direct culprits.” According to RTS, both are very young: Stefan Gudelj is 20 and Matej Gastarov is 19. As the reason the youngsters came on, he cited injuries: Lukasen is injured, while Veljkovic and Tebo have returned from injury.
Asked about Dieng’s miss, which was a chance and not a penalty, he replied: “It happens. Messi and Maradona miss penalties.”
Terzic described the club’s plan as long-term and announced the arrival of Spanish coaches at Graficar and for the cadet team. On reinforcements, he said the club has “January and June to grant him his wishes”. The goal for the season, he says, is winning the double and getting through the knockout phase of the Conference League. To the remark that the Serbian nation has no patience, he responded: “Let the nation go back to SMS messages and live like that! As long as I am at Red Star, it will be the way I want it!”
How far did Red Star fall in the UEFA ranking?
Novosti reports that Red Star dropped eight places, to 63rd in the UEFA club ranking, with a coefficient of 34 points. Fifteen points from the 2021/22 season, when the club played the Europa League round of 16 against Glasgow Rangers, drop out of the total. Slovan Bratislava, Karabag, Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta, Slavia and Ferencvaros have overtaken it, and Novosti describes them as direct rivals in Champions League qualifying. Novosti writes that without an improved coefficient, Red Star could lose its seeded status in the playoff.
What comes next?
Through the rest of the autumn, Red Star face Copenhagen and Inter Escaldes of Andorra at home, Gent and Iberia of Georgia away, and Trabzon at the Marakana to finish. Copenhagen beat Braga 3-0 in the same round. Red Star will host them in Belgrade on Thursday, October 22, and Terzic said he would like the fans to come to that match.
