Alex Ballesteros: ‘I did not abandon the match’

UV Green Booters head coach Alex Ballesteros with his team | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Clarifications were all he wanted. 

University of the Visayas (UV) Green Booters head coach Alex Ballesteros said he had no intention of abandoning their match against the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Kicking Panthers in the Cesafi collegiate football tournament.

All he wanted was to get an explanation of the referee’s decision before the match would be restarted. 

“Wa man ko ni abandon ato. Wa pud nako gipagawas ako mga players. Ang ako lang, usa unta niya (referee) ipa continue, gusto unta ko mangayo ug clarification sa iya decision. Kay wala man guy audio. Walay announcement,” Ballesteros explained. 

(I did not abandon the match. I also did not tell my players to leave. I just wanted that before the match continues was a clarification of his decision. There was no audio and there was no announcement.)

Ballesteros is in danger of getting banned for life from coaching in the Cesafi after referee Dave Intong declared that UV had abandoned their match against USPF with 15 minutes left to play last Saturday, October 26, 2019, following a brawl that saw three players from USPF and two from UV getting ejected. 

Read more: Cesafi Ground Rules Violated: UV Green Booters coach may be ‘banned for life’ after game walkout

“Nangita ko sa tournament manager kay ang mga officials nga naa di man maka explain,” Ballesteros added.

(I was looking for the tournament manager because the officials on the field can’t give me an explanation.)

According to Ballesteros, he needs clarification on  three things. 

First, why only three players from USPF were given red cards when he had counted many more throwing a punch.  He said he has a list of the jersey numbers of those who punched who and he will present this to the organizers.

Second, he wants an explanation on why his players Mon Ferdinand Osorio were given a second yellow, and why Kenneth John Vargas got a direct red card when he was far away from the commotion when it happened.

Third, he wants to know why the referee wanted to continue the game when it was no longer safe for his players as they got hit by many punches. 

Ballesteros said that with what happened, he was really expecting the match to be stopped. 

He added that if the referee had given at least five red cards, which he deemed was appropriate as not only three USPF players had thrown punches, the match should have been stopped already because seven players were needed by a team to play on.

“Daghan kaayo ilang players nga nanumbag,” claimed Ballesteros who added “Ngano tagaan man chance nga magkagubot usab.”

(There were many of their players who had thrown punches. Why give a chance for trouble to brew again.)

Ballesteros also explained that the reason he attempted to enter the field was to get answers from the referee but the latter would not even go near him and just stayed in the center of the court. 

He said this was the reason why he eventually got upset because the referee refused to answer his queries./elb