Riera criticises refereeing after Red Star lose to Lugano

Riera criticises refereeing after Red Star lose to Lugano

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Editor
2026-10-18 11:24:26
Albert Riera blamed referee Florian Badstübner after Red Star Belgrade's 3-2 Conference League defeat by FC Lugano, with Zvezdan Terzic backing him.

Albert Riera criticised the refereeing after Red Star Belgrade's 3-2 Conference League defeat by FC Lugano, with the coach, who joined Red Star after a brief spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, blaming German referee Florian Badstübner. The result left Red Star without a point after their opening game in the league phase.

Riera's complaints about the referee

Riera took particular issue with the late penalty awarded when substitute Mahmudu Bajo held Beckham Castro, and the spot kick gave Lugano the winner.

"I don't want to congratulate Lugano," Riera said after his team's defeat.

He added: "I don't want to be suspended, but I demand that the club investigate what is happening to us. Because of the penalties, we are not playing in the Europa League. I'm not going to talk about football."

Under Riera, Red Star had gone out of Europa League qualifying against Viktoria Pilsen: they won the first leg but lost the return, with two penalties among the goals.

He also complained: "This is my club, I want to take part in competitions. Perhaps UEFA don't want us in Europe? Then they should say why."

What Riera said about the performance

Red Star had led twice in the match.

The 44-year-old said: "At certain stages of the match, we produced a masterclass. There was only one team on the pitch."

He added: "We were not in good physical shape, I can say that. But it also hurts that the referees have now disadvantaged us in Europe for two matches. I'm frustrated and disappointed, but I'm satisfied with my boys' performance."

Terzic backs the coach

General director Zvezdan Terzic backed Riera after the defeat.

Terzic said: "I can't remember the last time we produced a game as high-quality and dominant as this one. No matter who the opponents are, this is how Red Star should always play."

He added: "For years we have talked about wanting the Spanish style of football, with lots of passing, attacking play and high pressing, and we had all of that too."

Terzic made clear: "Our stance towards Riera will not change, even if we lose to Copenhagen."

He also said: "When we were negotiating a month ago, he said he would not want to swap Red Star's squad for Eintracht Frankfurt's. That means he is very happy with the players he has."

Next Conference League game

FC Copenhagen await in the Conference League on Thursday.

After just 11 rounds of the Serbian league, Terzic declared: "We are already champions."

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more sports news, visit www.bit.fan.
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