Local arbitration is better than foreign arbitration in “our league”

Portuguese Paulo Sousa, Shabab Al-Ahly coach, described his team’s confrontation against Al-Wasl as “a derby between two big teams,” following their 1-1 draw on Wednesday in the 18th round of the professional league.

Sousa confirmed during the press conference after the match that he felt proud to face a team the size of Al Wasl, noting that his players were not in the best physical condition, due to absences resulting from injuries and colds, in addition to the player Sultan Adel leaving injured during the first half.

He said: “We were looking for a better result, and despite the circumstances we went through, the team showed a clear advantage in the first half, and were able to score the first goal.”

The Shabab Al-Ahly coach touched on the arbitration, considering that the local referee deserves more respect, and that he is better than the foreign referee in the league, even though the match was officiated by Australian international referee Shaun Evans.

He added: “I do not think that a foreign referee will be better than a local referee in our league,” criticizing at the same time what he described as a waste of time during the match.