After drawing with Hajduk (2:2), the Pula-based club posted a video compilation of questionable refereeing decisions from the first two rounds of the SuperSport HNL on social media.
NK Istra 1961 took to social media after the first two rounds of the SuperSport HNL to express their frustration with the officiating. The Pula-based club released a video highlighting controversial incidents from their matches against Lokomotiva and Hajduk, accompanied by the question: "What is going on?!"
The first contentious situation occurred in the first-round match against Lokomotiva. Young 17-year-old forward Nka Škafara Žužić scored from distance to give Istra a 2-1 lead, but the officials deemed that his teammate Emil Frederiksen, in an offside position, was interfering with goalkeeper Josip Posavec. The goal was disallowed, and Lokomotiva eventually won 3-2.
Bertrand Layec later concluded that the goal should have stood.
The second incident in the video occurred in the 90th minute of Sunday's draw with Hajduk at Poljud. With the score at 2-1 to the hosts, Istra striker Matija Kablara attempted a header from a cross on the left. The footage shows Hajduk's Belgian defender Alec Van Hoorenbeeck stopping him with an elbow to the neck. Referee Mateo Erceg and the VAR room did not intervene.
The match ended 2-2, leaving Hajduk with just one point after two rounds. Hajduk's striker Michele Šego did not hide his disappointment after the match.
"I think we let them back into the game. We started well, scored from a rehearsed move. I partly take responsibility for the first goal we conceded; the ball shouldn't go through the wall, it was my fault for turning... We managed to make it 2-1, but I don't know what to say about the end of the match, that we can't see it out. It's just a mental thing," Šego began for Dalmatinski portal.
He also addressed the issue of conceding goals in stoppage time. "Yes. We know our history. When I was here, there was Steaua, now Pafos. I don't know what needs to be done. It's in the head."
When asked about the atmosphere in the dressing room, he replied curtly: "What's the atmosphere in the dressing room? Silence, what else? It's nonexistent."
"We have a lot of ups and downs, we lack consistency. We can't control a match from start to finish. I hope we'll fix that," he added.
On the situation after taking just one point from two matches, he said: "Not good. We know we should have won both. Focus is on Thursday and getting through." When a journalist asked if the performance on Thursday matters, he replied: "I wouldn't agree. I think the performance is secondary; the most important thing is to advance."
Hajduk hosts Žalgiris on Thursday at 9:00 PM at Poljud in the return leg of their European tie, defending a 5-2 lead from the first match.
