Sardor Rashidov, a former player of Uzbekistan's national team, expressed his view that blaming the referee for the team’s recent loss to Qatar is unwarranted. Rashidov shared his thoughts in an interview with QALAMPIR.UZ, notes that the key to success lies more in capitalizing on opportunities.

“Before the match, I mentioned that we should take a 50% chance to stop Afif, not just 10%,” Rashidov remarked. “Yesterday, it was a tactical battle between coaches, and Qatar’s coach made the right moves to win the game. But it’s not over yet; if we beat North Korea, things will look positive again.”

The 33-year-old footballer emphasized that the referee should not be held accountable for Uzbekistan's loss.

“What did the referee do wrong? In Faizullayev’s situation, he even went to VAR to review it in our favor, which only cost us some time,” Rashidov explained. “Let’s stop blaming the referee for this loss. In fact, referees have supported us significantly in home matches—like when the penalty was canceled against Iran.”

Uzbekistan will face DPRK in their next World Cup qualifying match on November 19, which is set to take place in Laos.