Al-Jazira coach Marinco Busic stated that he had never before seen a referee use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology twice in a single incident, calling the decision laughable. He said this at a press conference following the match between Al-Ain and Al-Jazira, which ended 1-1 in the eighth round of the ADNOC Pro League. "I've never seen that before," Busic said. "It was a laughable and sad decision. But referees are human, they make mistakes, and unfortunately, it went against us. Overall, I don't like to talk about refereeing and I focus on the technical aspects." He added about the match: "It was a very high-quality and entertaining game that reflects the level of the league. We had more than one opportunity, but Al-Ain scored from their first shot on goal. Frankly, it was a beautiful goal, and we should have defended better. We managed to equalize, but based on our team's performance, a draw is not a satisfactory result; we deserved to win." Meanwhile, Al-Ain coach Vladimir Ivic expressed his satisfaction with the draw result. "We did not play well and did not show the level we aspired to," said Ivic. "Overall, Al-Jazira was better in the duels. Sometimes this is the price of the international break, which negatively affected the team's performance. I am not looking for excuses, but when you play against a strong opponent, you must be at your best." He continued: "I am satisfied with the draw considering the course of the match, although we were aiming for a win. The match was very difficult, Al-Jazira dealt with us well, pressured the players, and we had problems in building attacks, we missed some chances, but the opponent was stronger in the duels." "The international break contributed to the lack of readiness of some players," Ivic added. "For example, the player Kakou has not played in matches for 20 days, although he should have started because he is one of the team's key players." The match was held at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in the presence of about 10,000 spectators. Al-Ain raised its points to 20, taking first place, while Al-Jazira has 14 points, ranking fifth.
