Mariners camp call for fifth official for A-League matches

Central Coast chief Shaun Mielekamp will raise the possibility of having a fifth official at A-League games.

Mariners coach Paul Okon reacts after a missed scoring chance against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.

Central Coast chief executive Shaun Mielekamp will bring up the possibility of having a fifth and sixth official at A-League games in the wake of the Mariners’ controversial draw with Western Sydney on Saturday night.

The Mariners were fairly subdued publicly after the game about match officials missing a blatant handball that should have resulted in a possible match-winning penalty late in the 1-1 draw at Spotless Stadium.

However, Mielekamp revealed yesterday that he would take up the matter with A-League head Greg O’Rourke when they meet in Sydney today. “It is something that needs to be discussed,” Mielekamp told The Australian. “We want to understand how the future looks with video refereeing or fifth and sixth officials being brought in.

“We have had issues in our first four games. The first time, you think ‘OK that’s 50-50’, the second time you are saying ‘gee, we aren’t having any luck’, the third time we are really upset and the fourth one well you are thinking something is not quite working right with the system. When we have the whole club from head coach to the volunteers who put up the (blow-up plastic) sauce bottles (at the back of the goals at Gosford), doing everything possible to get this club where everyone wants us to be and see the same thing four weeks in a row going against us we have to make sure it doesn’t become five from five games.

“A fifth official might be the exact thing that helps our game move forward so we are talking more about the game rather than the referees’ decisions.”

Fifth and sixth officials (aside from the referee, two linesmen and fourth official) are stationed behind each goal to pick up fouls, whether the ball has crossed the line for goals and to help with penalty decisions. They are common practice overseas and have been used in games in Australia.

Mielekamp has the full support of former Socceroo Mark Bosnich. Fox Sports analyst Bosnich said he has been calling for the introduction of a fifth official for some time. “His hand is in a completely unnatural position — that’s a penalty,” Bosnich, speaking on Fox Sports, said of the incident. “This is one of the reasons that I am always calling for a fifth official to be placed behind the goal.”

Mindful of the trouble fellow coaches Kenny Lowe (Perth) and Kevin Muscat (Melbourne Victory) have found themselves in, Mariners coach Paul Okon chose his words carefully.

“It is not important what I think. I don’t have the whistle or the flag to make that judgment,” Okon said. “All I can say is that in the four games we have had, there have been some bad decisions against us that have cost us points.

“They do tell me, because I am an inexperienced coach, that over the season it balances itself out — I can’t wait.”

While the Mariners are yet to win this season, Okon is happy with the progress of his team. “We are working hard and getting better and better,” he said. “I believe we can compete with every team in the league.”

Wanderers coach Tony Popovic lamented his team’s inability to finish off the many chances they created and the fact that they made a critical defensive mistake that cost them points. “We had ­numerous opportunities to put the game to bed and didn’t, then we concede a goal out of nothing,” he said. “Their goal gave them something to hold on to and allows them to then play on the counter.”

Striker Kerem Bulut, regarded as a key signing at the start of the season, was not just left out of the starting line-up but also out of the squad. Indications are that Pop­ovic has been unhappy with the controversial Bulut’s efforts at training.

“It was a footballing decision,” the Wanderers boss said. “We feel we want more at training. He needs to do more, but not just him, that goes for others.”