Head coach of Salzburg: "I don’t understand why Balakin went to review the episode and then awarded the penalty"

Salzburg coach Pipain Leenders criticized the main referee Mykola Balakin, who officiated the Austrian team’s Champions League match against Bayer.

Mykola Balakin. Photo: Reuters

At the beginning of the match, Balakin initially awarded a penalty against Salzburg but later went to watch the video replay of the moment. After a lengthy discussion with his colleagues, the Ukrainian referee still upheld his decision.

"I don’t understand why he went to review the episode and then still awarded the penalty. I can’t believe this. But this isn’t the reason we lost. We lost anyway. Bayer was unstoppable when they gained momentum. I understood that we needed to hold out for the first 15 minutes, but we didn’t do that," — quotes Leenders LAOLA1.at