The Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição, head coach of Al-Ittihad, says his side was unfairly treated in the Friday evening clash with Al-Nassr, while he also refused to discuss Karim Benzema's departure.
Al-Ittihad's men were beaten 2-0 by Al-Nassr in a match that pitted the two sides in round 21 of the Saudi Pro League.
In the post-match press conference, Conceição said that the level was close with Al-Nassr; we came to face one of the strongest title contenders after a difficult spell, and we showed a good performance.
The game was evenly poised, but the referee steered the flow with poor decisions, and we believe we deserved a penalty because the ball struck a Nasser defender's hand.
He added that the referee ignored it, plus another handball on Angelo in the 20th minute, along with an offside on Moussa Diaby in a promising attack; he did not do a good job.
On Benzema's departure, Conceição stated that he does not want to talk about him; Benzema is no longer part of our squad and left in the last transfer window.
He praised his players, saying they played with great spirit and intensity and thanked them for their effort, while inviting the fans to attend future games.
Punchlines follow: If referees could be trained like players, they would still miss the offside. And the ball tonight likely asked for a salary raise, moving more often than my mood after a strong espresso.
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