Should it have been a red? Auckland FC complain about ‘unacceptable’ act by Wellington Phoenix’s Alex Rufer

Phoenix captain Alex Rufer earns a yellow card by kicking at the ball while Auckland FC's Luis Toomey is in the way. Photo / Sky TV

The heated derby atmosphere from Saturday’s A-League clash has spilled over from the field to the boardroom, with Auckland FC asking competition bosses to “please explain” how Phoenix skipper Alex Rufer avoided a red card after he appeared to kick a man who was down.

Auckland FC’s CEO Nick Becker said: “We all thought, 100%, ‘He should be gone’.”

Rufer was shown a yellow card after lashing at the ball in the 77th minute while Auckland substitute Luis Toomey was covering it with his body as he had fallen on the ground. The Wellington captain landed two heavy blows to the side of Toomey’s torso.

Auckland coach Steve Corica was captured on camera as the incident happened, his emotions running high. After the match he said: “[Rufer] had three cracks at him and should have been sent off.”

“I agree with Steve 100%,” Becker told the Herald today. “I was standing next to Terry McFlynn, our football director [at the time of the incident], and we both said straight away, ‘That’s a red card’. He had about three goes at him. The first one was a yellow card, when [Luis Toomey] went down, and then he kicked him two more times when he was on the ground. You can’t do that. It’s unacceptable.

“Okay, if the ref missed it on the pitch, why didn’t they take it back to VAR? And how did he stay on the pitch? That totally baffles me. We have contacted the league and asked for a ‘please explain’, for some clarification.”

In the season’s first derby match, Toomey had earned the ire of Phoenix players and fans by giving their goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi a spray after his goalmouth blunder led to the opening score, ultimately costing his team the match.

Auckland City midfielder Louis Toomey taunts Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi. Photo / Sky Sport

After Saturday’s match, Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano referred to the incident from the earlier game when explaining Rufer’s actions. “That’s between the players, they will sort it out. I thought it was pretty disrespectful on [Toomey’s] part, even a couple of comments towards the end of that game. But he is a young kid, so I’ll leave it down to lack of experience.”

Five other Wellington players were shown yellow cards during Saturday’s heated clash, with coach Italiano also earning one on the sideline.