He took a position and even with a strong style Ivan Jovanovich for statements by Razvan Lucescu immediately after the end of the derby, in favor of Panathinaikos by the referee.
Speaking at the press conference, his coach Panathinaikou was asked about the said saying of the Romanian technician, clearly exasperated replying that the PAOK coach has a passion for the “greens” from the lost final of the Cup, even characterizing as ridiculously its arbitration clause.
Ivan Jovanovic’s statements:
“Mr. Lucescu said so. He has a grudge against Panathinaikos, maybe the Cup final they were sure of him and he lost since that day made him only deal with us and no other team here.
Now Panathinaikos suddenly has the favor of the arbitration, so what we did in the two years has been done with the favor of the arbitration. This is ridiculous. It is really not worthy of a person to comment on it. I have never commented on referees, I don’t think that what has happened in Greek football played a role in the referees’ decisions on the pitch.
I think it’s just an excuse for most people to take themselves or their team out of reality so people can do something else. I avoid doing this thing. I’d rather take the criticism myself and keep my players away from it.
It’s a shame, it only creates tensions, prejudices, anything bad that can happen in Greek football. If we coaches can’t be positive about this thing, what will we expect tomorrow from the people who want to go to the stadium. Now that Panathinaikos has been favored in recent years is suddenly ridiculous. I do not accept it. So my work is based on arbitration. It doesn’t make for a discussion. I think it is a position that hides the weaknesses of others from the real image that prevails in Greek football in the last two years. If I want to hide my own weaknesses, I can throw them all somewhere else.”
On how he saw today’s match: “It was a game where Panathinaikos had absolute control for the entire match. We made a lot of chances. Maybe we didn’t have the composure in the final decisions. Throughout the match there was one team that controlled the tempo. Under very difficult conditions, as we conceded two goals against the flow of the game. We were the team that created on the pitch. We had an extra charge because of the score we were chasing. PAOK is a good team, but throughout the game we were the team that had absolute control of the game.”
On whether the team that concedes the goals is unfair to itself: “It’s definitely difficult when you concede goals in the flow of the game. If we make mistakes whoever the opponent is can take advantage of it. There is some risk in our game. We wrong ourselves sometimes.”
About the team’s progress so far: “We are a big team and we always want to win. We have played 13 games since the summer and there are definitely ups and downs. It’s not pleasant when you don’t win derbies at home. We can’t analyze much because we have to prepare for the next match. I am satisfied with the way the players perceive. The year is very long. We have a long way to go. We have to be more careful. In all the matches we have played, I am pleased with the effort of my players. We can do better. We will need to push harder. We are in a period where we cannot analyze the previous matches, as a few days later we have another match.”
On Magnuson’s injury: “We have issues with stoppers. The most important is that of Magnusson who will be missed for a long time. Our options are limited. These are the facts, however, and we will have to find solutions within the team and from our way of playing. Let’s wish Magnuson a speedy and good recovery.”
For Geremegev: “Alex came into the game at a critical point. The goal he scored was very important in his first participation with the team. He will give too much to himself.”
Source: Sport Fm
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