Australia coach Holger Osieck voiced disbelief at a "very, very dubious" sending-off as the spotlight again fell on refereeing standards in Asia's World Cup qualifiers. Osieck was scathing about Saudi official Khalil Al Ghamdi's dismissal of Mark Milligan, for a second yellow card, which proved a key moment in Tuesday's thrilling 1-1 draw with Japan.
"I can't blame him at all," Osieck said of Milligan, who was ruled to have brought down Japan's Atsuto Uchida in the 55th minute at Brisbane Stadium. "That was a very, very dubious call from the referee. It was a cross inside and he clearly went to the ball and didn't even touch him.
"How could he give a red card for that? It was beyond my comprehension." Japan's Yuzo Kurihara scored the opening goal 10 minutes later before Luke Wilkshire equalised from the penalty spot, following Uchida's slight tug on striker Alex Brosque. And Japan also had cause to grumble when Al Ghamdi handed goal-scorer Kurihara a debatable second yellow, sending him off late in the game. He later blew the final whistle as Keisuke Honda lined up a free kick - sparking consternation on the visitors' bench. The latest controversy follows a complaint by FIFA vice-president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan about refereeing in Asia's final qualifying phase for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which kicked off last week.