After being sent off in Australia‘s Round of 16 loss to Norway at the Women’s World Cup, Matildas centre-back Alanna Kennedy has hit out at the standard of refereeing at the tournament.
Kennedy was shown a straight red card in extra time on Sunday to the shock of fans and players alike.
VAR did review the incident but the defender was still given her marching orders for a challenge she clearly believes didn’t warrant a red card.
“I felt at the time that my body was in front of hers and it was more or less a 50/50 and as a striker you go down and milk it a little bit,” Kennedy said post-match.
“But the decision is what it is and the girls did really well to get us into penalties and that shows the character in our team and we will come back from this.”
Though Norway wouldn’t capitalise on Kennedy’s dismissal as they triumphed on penalties, Australia were on the wrong end of a number of calls – including a decision to overturn a penalty that was initially awarded to them.
Exiting France earlier than many expected, Kennedy believes the officiating didn’t do the Matildas any favours.
“I think there needs to be a lot more clarity around the decisions of the referees,” she said.
“I think it’s been questionable throughout the whole tournament, and that’s not the way we want to play.
“We feel disappointed, we feel we had more potential and our tournament is cut short.”
As the green and gold ultimately lost the match against Norway on penalties, Kennedy revealed she was unable to watch the game from the locker room after being sent off.
“It was very difficult – I couldn’t get the game up on the TV,” she said.
“I was just pacing around I guess. I had full belief in the girls that they would get through.
“I am really proud of them for gritting it out and at least get to penalties. When you get to penalties anything can happen and that’s a bit of luck.
“I am so proud of them for the fight we showed throughout the whole tournament and we showed a lot of character. Maybe we didn’t play our best football, but the character and mentality within our team is admirable and I am happy to be part of this team.”
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