Rabah Madjer complains of referee mistakes in defeat to Saudi Arabia

Algerian head coach, Rabah Madjer

Thursday May 10, 2018. 12:00

Algeria coach Rabah Madjer has complained of several mistakes by the referee in his team’s 2-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in a friendly on Wednesday night.

The World Cup-bound Saudis claimed their victory in Cadiz, Spain, thanks to goals from Salman Al Faraj in the 24th minute and Yehya Al Shehri in the 81st minute.

The Fennec Foxes fielded a side that was predominantly drawn from their domestic league, as the match fell outside a sanctioned FIFA international window.

"You saw today that the conditions of play were not favourable for us. Arbitration has hurt us on some decisions,” Madjer is quoted by Le Buteur.

“There were some mistakes on the part of the referee, but hey, it's still a good experience for us.

“I think the players gave their best for this meeting and they are to be congratulated despite the defeat.”

The Algeria coach added, “We must not forget that this is only the second game of this team of locals, for years.

“We played a first match last January against the selection of Rwanda and during which we won on the final score of four goals to one.

“Now it's our second match and against a solid team from Saudi Arabia who qualified for the World Cup.

“I think this match showed us that the players lack experience because they lacked confidence just after the first goal conceded.”

Algeria used the match as preparation for the resumption of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later in the year.