Central Coast Mariners coach Mark Jackson takes aim at A-League refereeing boss Jon Moss over recent comments

Fresh off a loss that involved a contentious referee decision, Central Coast Mariners coach Mark Jackson has responded to claims around the current standard of A-League officiating.

Central Coast Mariners head coach Mark Jackson has responded to recent comments from A-League refereeing boss Jon Moss around the satisfaction level from clubs on the state of officiating. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

Mariners coach Mark Jackson has taken aim at A-Leagues refereeing boss Jon Moss following the latter’s assertion that he had recently consulted all the clubs about the standard of refereeing.

A-League officiating has been under the microscope recently after former Macarthur skipper Valère Germain cited inconsistent refereeing standards as a key reason behind his departure from the Bulls.

Moss came out on the defensive on Wednesday, stating: “The feedback right across the board, from all the clubs, has been that they’ve been more than happy with the way that we’re refereeing.”

GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA – MAY 18: Referee Alireza Faghani shows Mariners coach Mark Jackson a yellow card during the A-League Men Semi Final match between Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC last season. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

However, these claims were disputed by Jackson, who alleged on Saturday that his club had not received any recent correspondence from Moss about the standard of refereeing.

“I read something today about Jon Moss … and how he has spoken to every club and everybody is happy with how it’s going,” Jackson said following his side’s 4-1 loss to Western Sydney.

“But I have to tell you, we’ve never been contacted and asked our opinion on it … myself or [Mariners Sporting Director] Matt Simon.

“So not every club has been contacted, that’s for sure.

“They may have contacted other people, but certainly not us.”

The Mariners were penalised in the 69th minute of their loss to the Wanderers when officials ruled that goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic had taken out Western Sydney substitute Marcus Antonsson in the box.

Despite admitting the penalty didn’t ultimately affect the result, Jackson said he didn’t think it should have been awarded and the incident was indicative of the perceived refereeing issues facing the A-League.

“It’s not a penalty,” Jackson said.

“I think he’s going down easy, I think he’s played for it, and I think with the use of VAR, you should be able to eradicate that from the game.

“I think [the refereeing] has been inconsistent.

“I know it’s a difficult job … but with the use of technology … you’d expect them to get more things right.

“We’ve had a few instances where we’ve put our comments forward, but they’ve been dismissed fairly quickly.”

Originally published as Central Coast Mariners coach Mark Jackson takes aim at A-League refereeing boss Jon Moss over recent comments