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Wellington Phoenix have two weeks to think about the controversial red card midfielder Alex Rufer received before he takes the field in the A-League.
They drew 1-1 with Macarthur FC on Saturday to score their first points of the season, but will continue to seek their first win when the Newcastle Jets visit home at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on January 24.
Whether Rufer will be available for that game will be a matter of intrigue this week, and Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said after Saturday’s draw that they would ask questions about Stephen Lucas’ decision to send him off following an intervention from the video assistant referee. . Kris Griffiths-Jones.
Matt King / Getty Images
Wellington Phoenix midfielder Alex Rufer was sent off after this tackle by Macarthur FC midfielder Denis Genreau.
“We will take a look at it, talk to the club and see what we can do about it.”
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Rufer seemed to have been extremely harsh by and Fox Sports Commentator Robbie Slater went so far as to say that it was “the worst decision [he’d] seen “since the introduction of the VAR.
After reaching out and kicking the ball away from Denis Genreau’s feet, Rufer fell and his legs caught those of the Macarthur midfielder, who was looking to join his teammates on a counterattack.
His eyes were closed and there didn’t seem to be any intention or recklessness on his part, but after looking at the pictures, Lucas reached into his pocket and the red rectangle, which had initially taken out a yellow one, had apparently judged him. to be a case of Rufer lashing out.
Macarthur’s coach Ante Milicic sidestepped the issue in his post-game press conference, stating that he “didn’t actually see it.”
Talay was restrained, a week after his frustrations at the end of Phoenix’s loss to Sydney FC earned him a yellow card, simply labeling him “very soft.”
He added that Rufer was “disappointed” because “he feels he has done nothing wrong in that challenge.”
Rufer’s only previous red card in the A-League came under similar circumstances at the end of the 2017-18 season, when the VAR judged he had lashed out at Melbourne Victory midfielder Terry Antonis.
Matt King / Getty Images
Phoenix midfielder Alex Rufer is sent off by referee Stephen Lucas after his tackle on Macarthur’s Denis Genreau.
On that occasion, the independent match review panel determined that he had committed the crime of “serious unsportsmanlike conduct” and imposed a one-match sanction on him and that panel will now be called back.
The Phoenix were the strongest team on Saturday before they were down to 10 men and Talay was pleased, all things considered, as he thought about visiting Newcastle in two weeks.
‘I think [in] the last 20 to 25 minutes against Sydney and until today’s expulsion … we played very good football so that’s promising for us, “he said.
“This game is finished now, and we look forward to our games coming closer.”
If Rufer has to serve a suspension, Matt Ridenton is likely to enter midfield alongside Cam Devlin, who was a dynamo once again against Macarthur.
Phoenix should be able to turn to offensive midfielder Reno Piscopo against Newcastle, after he missed his first two games while recovering from a calf injury.
There was concern for goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic after Saturday’s game, where he appeared to suffer a thigh injury and had him tied up, but after the game his coach didn’t seem too concerned.
“Stefan seemed fine in the locker room,” Talay said.
“But we will evaluate it and in the next 24 to 48 hours we will know where it is.”
