A-League Women: Perth Glory coach Stephen Peters left furious with refereeing in 2-0 loss to Melbourne City

Perth Glory coach Stephen Peters has unleashed on the officiating during his side’s 2-0 loss at home to A-League Women table-toppers Melbourne City, claiming it felt like his side were facing 12 opponents. A furious Peters gave referee Georgia Ghirardello both barrels during his post-game press conference after he was left apoplectic over a decision to not send off Melbourne City defender Alexia Apostolakis. While Peters admitted his side were second-best in their first defeat in almost a month, he lambasted Ghirardello’s decision to not give Apostolakis a second yellow card for a cynical hold-back. With City 1-0 up in the 29th minute thanks to Holly McNamara’s opener, Apostolakis clumsily shoved Glory winger Susan Phonsongkham as she chased a ball which was easily cleared by Melbourne goalkeeper Malena Mieres. Apostolakis was booked for the unnecessary push and then nine minutes later, cynically grabbed Phonsongkham off-ball as she attempted to run after another long ball. This time, referee Ghirardello waved away the offence but opted to not issue a second yellow and give Apostolakis her marching orders — and Peters was livid. “How Apostolakis stayed on the field is absolutely beyond me. I just don’t get it,” he said. “You’ve got a player on a yellow card who pulls a player back off the ball in front of the referee, and the card stays in their pocket. I just don’t understand it. “The explanation I received is that the ball was too far away and she didn’t believe Susan was going to get to it. She must be Nostradamus. “I actually really like that referee, and it’s a shame — the interesting thing is, she sent a player off last week in Canberra, but today for some reason decided she wasn’t going to send the player off. “Instead of going from playing against 10, we’ve gone to playing against 12. Absolute joke. It’s very difficult to accept.” Peters insinuated City had received the rub of the green from the officials and the refereeing had been inconsistent. “McNamara shoulder charges Emma Tovar in the face, no yellow, Emma has to come off the field because there’s no yellow,” he said. “And then McNamara gets the same treatment in the second half, they go on, they treat her, she had a bloody nose or whatever, stays on the field, doesn’t have to come off. Why is there different treatment for two different teams? “I’m not making excuses for the loss, but it’s very frustrating when you’re trying to set your team up to play a game of football and the referee clearly decides we’re just going to apply the rules for one team and not for the other. “And it’s Melbourne City — how are we supposed to compete against the best team in the league if the referee decides she’s not going to adjudicate the rules properly?” With Glory having a very short turnaround when they host Sydney FC on Wednesday night, Peters said they would need to bounce back quickly after a disappointing effort which saw McNamara score both goals. “(Energy) was there in the first half; for whatever reason, it wasn’t there in the second half. I have to look into that. Is it that they’re not understanding things tactically? Is it a personnel thing?” he said. “We’ve got to pick a team that’s fresh and hungry and wanting to fight for three points. Sydney turns into a massive game for us. It’s a must-win.”