Özbalta: Adapting to VAR decisions is not easy

Erzurumspor lost by 3 goals at home to Arca Çorum FK in Week 10 of the Trendyol Süper Lig. Speaking after the match, head coach Serkan Özbalta said they were sad to have lost a game they wanted to win in front of their fans.

Özbalta said the opposing team was made up of quality players. He said the first 20 minutes were balanced, after which the match was not played at a very high tempo.

Referring to the VAR debate, Özbalta said he believed the flag should have gone up in Smolcic's incident and that the assistant referee clearly saw offside. He added that the system comes with new applications every season and that it takes time for players and referees to adapt to this arrangement. He said the final verdict on the lack of communication before the goal would come from the commentators in the evening.

Describing the second half, when they came on with changes and pushed forward on the opposing goal, Özbalta said the second goal was an unfortunate one to concede. He said a penalty was awarded after the ball touched Orhan Ovacıklı's hand while he was trying to save it, that changing the game after conceding 3 goals is difficult, and that they lost morale against quality opponents.

Touching on the budget, the head coach said the opposing team's squad value was 7 to 8 times higher than his own team's, so they have a squad that competes with Eyüpspor. Saying that recent performances have been encouraging, Özbalta expressed hope that his players would show their potential again in the match against Rizespor.