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Player protests own PK; gets red-carded
Reuters, May 4th, 2012 3:28PM
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TAGS:  off the post, referees


After Talat Abunima of Norwegian fifth division club Sandved went down in the Ild penalty area, referee Nedzad Munjic pointed to the spot. Abunima argued that he hadn't been fouled, received a yellow card, and then a red when he continued his protest. "I went past an Ild player and then tripped over my own feet. It was unbelievably clumsy of me and when the referee pointed to the spot I felt I had to speak out," Abunima said.

Munjic disagreed: "It was a clear penalty. The player got it all wrong – I don't think the players know the rules properly. And when I've blown the whistle, I can't change my mind."

Rune Pedersen
, the head of the Norwegian Referees' Association, said the official could have changed his mind over the penalty but that the cards were warranted. "A referee can change any decision he has taken until the play resumes," he said.

With Sandved leading 3-1, Oyvind Svenning deliberately sent the PK wide, Ild withdrew a player to make the sides even again, and was awarded two late penalties by Munjic, converting both to finish with 3-3 tie.

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1 comment
  1. Carlos Thys
    commented on: May 5, 2012 at 5:22 a.m.
    I'd like to see a video of this. Either the Sandved player, Talat Abunima, has no idea of what just occurred to him, i.e. he was truly fouled and Abunima thinks he was clumsy, or this referee is rather stupid / hard-headed. When a player immediately protests that he was not fouled and that the other team should not be penalized, why dispute the man who should know it best? Then... to yellow card him? Okay, I'll try to be charitable to this referee and say perhaps Abunima's protestations were over the top, unsportsmanlike or that he physically touched or used abusive language to the referee. Maybe? And a red card? With Abunima's teammate O. Svenning purposely flubbing the penalty kick, I think we then know that the referee got this all wrong. With the opposing side Ild freely deciding to also go down to just 10 players, well, Mister Referee, I think we then really know that you got that one all wrong. Perhaps there is some classy sportsmanship going on here, with Abunima, this his teammate, then the opposing side. It would be interesting to see the match report and a summation from both coaches with some player quotations. Were the final two penalties fully legit? Can we say that the bottom line is: Referees, don't be soooo stubborn. Yes, one has to be resolute and firm in the face of controversy. But not deaf. Listen to what the players are saying around you, use their body language communication, too. There is no shame or weakness on display if one reverses a bad initial decision.


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