I am angry at the umpiring: Ric
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth trained his guns on the umpires again after his team’s third straight victory at the World Cup hockey.
Australia removed a main obstacle in their path with a 2-0 win over Spain, but Charlesworth was upset by the fact that Spain received seven penalty corners in the game.
“I am very angry at the umpiring today,” said Charlesworth, who watched the game from the stands. “Giving them seven penalty corners put a lot of pressure on our players. Some of them were just not warranted,” added the Aussie, who was critical of the officiating in his team’s first match against England as well.
“Umpiring has been a problem for some years but one expects better at a World Cup,” said Charlesworth.
Indian coach Jose Brasa too had complaints against the officials and had said the other day that the umpires’ manager had admitted that some decisions against India were indeed wrong.
The defeat to Australia has virtually ended Spain’s hopes of a semifinal berth. Their coach Dani Martin said his team didn’t deserve to advance after wasting several chances.
“You don’t deserve to be in the semifinal if you waste seven penalty corners,” said Martin, adding that his team would now aim to finish among the top six.
