Watch: Floriana FC says referee’s decisions damaged team’s hopes in Ħamrun Spartans defeat

Floriana FC have issued a statement to express their disappointment on the performance of referee Philip Farrugia in Sunday’s Jubilee Cup quarter-final clash against Ħamrun Spartans at the Tony Bezzina Stadium.

Ħamrun Spartans booked their place in the quarter-finals of the one-off competition when they registered a 2-0 win courtesy of an own goal by Lucas Lopez early in the first half and Joseph Mbong late on.

However, although Floriana failed to highlight the incident in their statement, their disappointment focused on a second-half incident in which Ħamrun Spartans goalkeeper Henry Bonello charged out of his goal to tackle Floriana striker Mattija Veselji, who was sprinting towards their opponents’ goal.

Here, referee Farrugia decided to brandish a yellow card to Bonello, much to the chagrin of the Floriana players and officials who expected to dismiss the goalkeeper for what they felt was a violent challenge.

“Floriana FC would like to express their concern on the performance of referee Philip Farrugia during yesterday’s match between Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans,” the statement said.

“The club considers that a number of judgmental mistakes were made during the match, that clearly affected the proceedings and the final result of the match at the expense of Floriana FC.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the decisions taken by referee Philip Farrugia directly damaged Floriana FC, and that this is creating serious concern about the consistency and the professional behaviour at the level of refereeing in local competitions.”

Floriana FC urged the Malta FA to take these circumstances seriously and take the necessary action to ensure a fair judgement and transparency in the officiating of Maltese football.

“Our club is committed to promoting respect towards match officials, but at the same time, one expects full responsibility and consistency in how the rules of the game are applied,” the Premier League club said.

“In this moment, and due to yesterday’s episodes, the club has no other alternative than to highlight the actions of Philip Farrugia with all the concerned associations, including FIFA, UEFA, MFA and MFRA and this to safeguard its rights.”