FC Goa won because of its players, not the referee: Manolo Marquez after sealing ACL 2 spot
Goa, playing its first competitive match of the season, rode on goals by Dejan Drazic (24') and Javier Siverio (52') to beat the Omani club 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Wednesday.
'We suffered too much, but finally, we showed some heart— not just the quality, but something more.'Manolo Marquez after FC Goa's win
The match saw a controversial penalty decision — later reversed — in the 43rd minute, when Drazic blocked Ahmed Al-Khamisi's cross, and Al Seeb thought it was a spot-kick from a handball inside the box.
The referee, Zhang Lei from China, initially pointed to the spot, but after consulting with the linesmen, changed his decision to a free kick just outside the 12-yard area.
'We saw the incident on the screen and all of us agreed that it was a penalty. If he had given it, maybe the result would have been different. Plus, there were two offside calls where our last defender and their forward were two metres apart, but he didn't flag it,' Tita told reporters after the match.
'Yesterday, I said the fans would be Goa's 12th man, but I was wrong—it was the referee.'
Marquez refuted the claims, saying he understood the coach's frustration after a loss, but insisted his team won purely on merit
Siverio (centre) celebrates scoring the second goal for FC Goa, one that proved to be the winner against Al Seeb on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: FC Goa Media
'From where I was, it was impossible to tell if it was a handball. Maybe, if I were on the other bench, I might have seen the hand, and I don't know if it's inside or outside the box,' Marquez said.
'I don't think that we qualified because of the referee. We qualified because maybe we were stronger, and maybe they are angry because they lost against a team that they thought they would beat.'
RELATED: FC Goa beats Al Seeb, joins Mohun Bagan in AFC Champions League Two group stage
Al Seeb, the 2022 AFC Cup champion, had entered the match as the favourite, with six members of the squad in the current Omani national team, a country ranked 54 spots above India.
India we did it! Straight into the AFC Champions League 2 Group Stages 😍🧡🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/2YBaUxg9FU — FC Goa (@FCGoaOfficial) August 13, 2025
'I think this team from Oman deserves a lot of respect. We suffered too much, but finally, we showed some heart— not just the quality, but something more,' Marquez added.
'I want to say that it's very difficult to play one match like this because but with the games we had in pre-season, we came into a game like this, and it was very difficult to play 90 minutes with such strong pressure. So, congratulations (to the team).'
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