Paul Onuachu played a pivotal role in Trabzonspor's victory over Fenerbahce, scoring a goal and having another controversially disallowed, Soccernet.ng reports.
Trabzonspor traveled to Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to face Super Lig leaders, with Southampton loanee Onuachu making a significant impact.
The tall Nigerian forward found the back of the net in the 10th minute, heading home a challenging goal from a cross to open the scoring.
In the 41st minute, Onuachu seemed to extend the lead as he rose to head in a corner kick, but the referee ruled out the goal for a foul.
In the dying minutes of the game, Enis Destan appeared to score a goal, further extending Trabzonspor's lead to 4-2. However, the referee disallowed the goal after a Video Assistant Referee review.
Watch the highlight here:
The disallowed second goal by Onuachu sparked debate about whether it should have counted. Onuachu acknowledged there was contact in the goal position but disagreed with the decision to disallow it.
“I am not someone who talks a lot about such decisions or argues with the referees a lot. There was a contact in the goal position. I made contact to complete my move. The referees already make the decision. Such contacts can sometimes be easily stolen. To tell you the truth, I made a foul against my opponent? I don't think so, “ he said as quoted by NTVSpor.
Referee Zorbay Küçük faced criticism from Ahmet Cakar, a respected former referee, for several wrong decisions in the match, including the disallowed goal.
Cakar cited double standards in the referee's decisions and questioned why a foul was not awarded to Dusan Tadic for pulling an opponent's jersey in the penalty area.
He said: “The name that left its mark on the match was referee Zorbay Küçük. Many of his critical decisions are wrong. For example, I will award the goal that Onuachu canceled. There are pushes and pulls in every corner. If you are canceling the goal because onuachu pulled, why didn't you give a foul to Tadic for pulling the opponent's jersey in the penalty area? If it's not a foul, why is onuachu's a foul? The embodiment of double standards.”
Trabzonspor's manager, Abdullah Avci, also supported the view that Onuachu's goal should not have been canceled, emphasizing the inconsistency in refereeing decisions.
Watch the video here:
https://twitter.com/fotomac/status/1720910524987101680?s=46&t=b9FUBUNstw3lkK85djbEwA
Onuachu's opening goal set the tone for the match's first half, with Bright Osayi-Samuel's side unable to find the net.
In the second half, both teams conceded four goals, resulting in a thrilling 3-2 victory for Trabzonspor. The win propelled Trabzonspor to fourth place in the Super Lig standings.
