Blues’ head coach Francis Haringingo has criticized referee Abdul Twagirumukiza over questionable refereeing decisions that he made during his side’s 2-0 shock defeat against Musanze on Sunday, November 27, at Ubworoherane Stadium.
Rayon were reduced to 10 men before the end of the first half after defender Samuel Ndizeye made a saw for unsportsmanlike foul on Musanze’s Valeur Nduwayo, prompting referee Twagirumukiza to show him a straight red card while the fouled player was taken to hospital conscious.
Haringingo admits his player made a foul but he questioned the fact that he was sent off, decision he described as ‘unfair’.
"It was clearly a foul but the decision to send [Ndizeye] off was not fair. It wasn’t our day; it wasn’t also a good day in the refereeing side either. We have seen such incidents in the international matches, and referees would book players with a yellow card,” Haringingo said.
"It is a disaster because the referee has not made a good decision. Watch the incident yourself; it was not a red card because the player was conscious. He fell down due to the speed. The referee simply didn’t give us a chance to play football,” he added
Second half goals from Peter Agblevor and Namanda Wafura in the 84th and 87th minutes respectively were enough to for the hosts to shock Rayon, a result that left the Burundian tactician blames on poor refereeing.
"Our boys did the best to stop them from registering a win. To lose 2-0 against Musanze is a surprise, but it could have been worse compared to the way our referee officiated,” he said.
"I am disappointed we didn’t get a positive result. We expected a tough game against Musanze and I cannot blame my players for the loss. They did well and created chances but sometimes you need to use the chances that come your way to win and unfortunately today we didn’t,” he added.
Despite the defeat in Musanze, Rayon Sports remain at the top of the table with 22 points followed by SC Kiyovu with 21 points while APR are third with 19 points.
The Blues will be looking to bounce back when they host Bugesera FC Sunday, December 4 at Kigali Stadium.