Team Melli fans will hardly forget one referee who cost Iran dearly one year ago in the Asian Cup 2015. It was that notorious Ben Williams who sent off Mehrdad POOLADI in the quarter-final game against Iraq for the lightest of contacts with the Iraqi keeper. The second yellow card deprived Team Melli from one player for the whole of the 2nd half. Carlos Queiroz , who nearly blew his top on that decision, had to be restrained during the half time by his player to prevent him confronting the Australian referee. It was not the only mistake of this Australian referee who has been a subject of many complaints in the last few years mainly during the AFC Champions League from the Saudi and Emirates club for his controversial refereeing and decisions.
Williams is making the headlines again, for the wrong reason, this time in the local Australian league as clear from the following report.
A-League referee Ben Williams made a televised apology for making a mistake in two of three contentious first-half decisions that overshadowed Western Sydney’s goalless stalemate with Adelaide United. Williams stole the spotlight for all the wrong reasons at Pirtek Stadium on Friday night, leaving both sides feeling aggrieved over a disallowed goal and two clear penalty appeals.
But for all the attacking football, the focus was again on controversy. First, Wanderers striker Federico Piovaccari was disallowed an opening goal after a shoulder-to-shoulder tussle with Dylan McGowan. The pair had each other by the shirts as they hurtled downfield but the stocky Italian was stronger, driving the ball past United custodian Eugene Galekovic, who didn’t even bother to dive.
If that decision was 50-50, what came moments later was clear-cut. Michael Marrone charged into the box and was fouled by Wanderers captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley, only for Williams to ignore it. Then, right on the tick of halftime, McGowan appeared to bring down Mark Bridge in another appeal gone wanting.
After the match, Williams admitted that after watching video replays he realised he’d gotten it wrong on the latter two counts. “Having seen the contact now (from Topor-Stanley on Marrone), I think that’s a penalty. So my apologies there,” he told Fox Sports. “In regards to the other one with the Mark Bridge challenge … that’s probably a penalty also. Of course, we never like to make errors, but this is the way it goes.”
“From my position that’s what I saw on the day.”
It remains to be seen whether AFC will give this referee more matches in the upcoming Champions league season starting next February.