"I won't comment on the referee's decisions" - Rayo coach on controversial disallowed goal

Rayo Vallecano's coach Inigo Perez said, after Monday's defeat against Barcelona (1-0), that no coach and no player can be “happy” when they lose and he was “hurt” and “a little bitter”. Even so, the Navarrese coach did admit that Rayo did “things very well” and that, as time goes by, he will surely find many reasons to feel “satisfied and proud”.

Perez regretted that Rayo started “fearful”, but, as the minutes went by, they realised that they can compete and play good games against rivals of that stature and “the true potential of this team” was seen.

In addition, he refused to comment on the referee's decisions, which made headlines as Rayo were controversially disallowed an equaliser. "I won't comment on that. I want to take the position of empathising with the referees, both when a decision benefits us and when it harms us."

In addition, the Spanish coach explained that he prepared a specific plan for his team to stop Pedri, who is in superb form. For this match we made a plan to stop Pedri. We tried. We analysed how he plays, how he passes the ball. It makes me happy that he is getting continuity. He knows how to defend, he knows how to attack... It's a joy to watch him play," he concluded.

 

February 17, 2025