The Serbian soccer association has appealed to FIFA over referee Felix Brych’s officiating during the 2-1 defeat to Switzerland which jeopardised the nation’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup.
“We have submitted seven video-recordings clearly showing Brych’s tendency to make decisions against our national team,” said a statement from the Serbian association. The footage reveals Brych’s double standards in brandishing yellow cards, as he was quick to book our key players while he didn’t do the same in similar situations at the other end.”
Chief among their complaints was the decision to not award Aleksandar Mitrovic a penalty in the second half when the game was poised at 1-1, an incident where referee Brych chose not to consult the video assistant referee (VAR).
“The most glaring poor decision was not awarding Serbia a penalty for a foul on Mitrovic with the score 1-1… The whole world saw the penalty except Brych and it should have gone to VAR analysis. We are wondering why Serbia is the only team in the World Cup where the match official chose to ignore controversial situations at it raises the legitimate question whether the VAR is being used selectively,” added the statement.