Marius Sumudica: 'I didn't see Başakşehir on the pitch in the second half'

In the 8th week of the Trendyol Super League, Gaziantep FK was defeated 2-0 by Başakşehir in an away match. Following the match, Gaziantep FK manager Marius Sumudica made statements at the press conference. Starting his remarks by saying they were very unlucky during the match, Sumudica said, "I didn't see Başakşehir on the pitch in the second half. It was a very difficult match. We fell behind with the goal in the 3rd minute. Later, we scored an own goal and were 2-0 down. We played really good football in the second half. We did good things, but if we had converted the penalty, it could have been very different. My team was in good physical condition. We put good pressure on Başakşehir in the second half. If we had scored, it could have been different. I don't know what else we can do. Regarding Maxim, I can say that he has converted 18 penalties until now. But today he missed the penalty. Başakşehir was lucky today. If not today, maybe it would have been another time," he stated.

"This team will be better and will stay in the Super League this year"

Stating that they did not deserve this defeat, the Romanian coach said, "I also thank the Gaziantep side. We give them a promise: this team will be better and will stay in the Super League this year. I don't like talking about the referee, but I am a manager too and I respect everyone. Referees are luckier now; they can get warnings from VAR. As far as I could see, we could have won a second penalty. A player in Başakşehir controlled the ball with his hand again. Referees make decisions in seconds. I don't agree with the VAR decision. They had the opportunity to look at the position. I also want to say this. I follow all the matches in Europe. They don't stop the game. Players waste time. The game stopped many times, but they added 2 minutes to the end of the match. I want to ask, what is the reason for this? Everyone comes to the stadium to watch the match, I prepare the team, everyone puts in an effort. Everyone wants to watch football. Give people a chance to play. Give us a chance to play. When you go to VAR, when 5 substitutions are made, 5 minutes of stoppage time are given anyway. If I am not right, I accept it. I have a 21-year coaching career, I can understand," he said.

News Source: 12punto