Yamen Al-Zulfani: We fought against Al-Zawraa with all we had and the referee made a controversial decision at the last moment

The coach of Diyala Club, Tunisian Yamen Al-Zulfani, expressed his sadness after the harsh loss his team suffered against Al-Zawraa in the last minute, with a score of 1-0 in the 32nd round of the Iraqi Stars League, confirming that his team had a great defensive match and was close to achieving a positive result, but he believed that some refereeing decisions directly affected the outcome of the match.

He said: "We lost in a very painful way; we were close to snatching a valuable point from a great team like Al-Zawraa, but the goal came in the 97th minute despite all the discipline and sacrifices we showed on the field."

He added: "The players executed the instructions accurately, and we succeeded in limiting the danger of Al-Zawraa's key players, and we were defensively organized throughout the match, and we were not far from achieving an upset."

He continued: "There was a controversial situation in the last moments of the match, where one of our players was involved in a collision with an elbow inside the penalty area, and the referee should have awarded a penalty kick, but unfortunately, he decided to continue the play, and this decision was pivotal."

He went on: "We respect the referees' decisions, but sometimes certain mistakes affect the course of the competition, and we only ask for fairness, especially in matches as significant as the one against Al-Zawraa."

He added: "My team has developed a lot, and I am proud of what the players showed today in terms of courage and resilience. We will continue to work in the remaining rounds and hope to exit the league in a manner that reflects our capabilities."