Olimpija drew with Koper in the 29th round of the Telemach First League in Stožice. The first half ended with the initial result thanks to Vidovšek. After a great breakthrough by Raul and an “assist” by Brest, the guests initially scored in their own net, but then managed to get back into the game after a free kick.
After the match, Zmajev head coach Victor Sanchez spoke at length: “We have a tough match without the right rhythm. Koper deserves praise for a solid performance. We wasted two points this time, but when you are not fresh, it is difficult to play the way you want. My first feeling is that this point is good. Now we have to analyze and fix things until Saturday. All we have to do is keep working and stay brave.”
“I don’t want to complain too much, but if I don’t say anything, then no one will respect us as we deserve. We are facing a new challenge, because we have to play against teams that have more time to prepare. We are tired, and we have to play again on Saturday against Nafta, who, like Koper, has an extra day. I don’t know why we can’t play on Sunday like the other teams. Our game is the only one that is played on Saturday.”
“We have four games in ten days, including the cup. That’s impossible. That’s against FIFA recommendations, which say we have to have a 72-hour break between games. Maribor, by comparison, will have four more days to rest in the same period.”
“Our players are tired, we have more and more problems with injuries. I think those who plan the calendar do not respect us. We just want equal treatment. It is incredible to me that we are constantly playing against teams that have a day longer to prepare. This is a very important issue at this time of the season.”
“At the same time, we keep hearing a lot, a lot of nonsense about cards, about penalties. Check the statistics from previous seasons. I always respect the referees myself. Always. Today, with VAR, everything is much fairer. The job of referees is not easy, and the people who criticize them don’t have much refereeing knowledge. For me, the problem is the rules, the referees are just people who have to interpret these rules, which are often very open-ended and the referees really don’t have an easy job.”
“I respect the referees and we will not complain about them. Sometimes the decisions are in your favor, sometimes to your detriment, we have also felt this in important matches, at home and in Europe. This is football. However, the fact is that Olimpija is not subject to the same criteria as other teams when it comes to the match schedule.”
