• Gor were drawn against the Moroccan club which emerged top of Group A
• Oktay termed the draw as fair
Image: OLIVER MORGAN
Gor Mahia coach Hasan Oktay has singled out biased officiating as his biggest worry ahead of their Caf Confederations Cup quarter-finals against Renaissance Sportive de Berkane of Morocco.
Gor were drawn against the Moroccan club which emerged top of Group A with 11 points of the qualifying campaign in a draw conducted on Wednesday night by the continental body.
While Oktay was expected to highlight the absence of the five key players who will sit out in the first leg set for April 7 due to suspension, the tactician instead insisted on the partisan officiating especially against opponents drawn from North Africa as his nightmare.
Gor has been on the receiving end of controversial officiating in their continental matches, angering Oktay who has since pleaded with the Caf to look into the matter and ensure teams fork out wins on the pitch fairly.
Oktay termed the draw as fair and did not shy away from unearthing his dream of progressing to the later stages of the tournament and hopefully claim it. The 42-year -old coach who admits relishing tough matches, believes he has the capacity to break the North African jinx against all odds.
“I like tough matches. I am a great fan of tough matches I don’t like easy encounters at all. My biggest worry ahead of the match against Berkane is officiating. We have fallen victims of poor handling of our past matches and at this stage, we need fairness to progress.
Berkane is beatable in either leg even though we will miss five players but I believe we have equal and able replacements. We managed to beat Zamalek at home against the odds and we are able to replicate it against Berkane.”
The coach challenged his bosses to invest in technology for easier monitoring of the tact used by their opponents as he confessed to having no knowledge of how the Moroccans play.
“It’s hard to prepare for a team which you have no idea of how they play, their strengths and weaknesses. They have already monitored us thus giving them an upper hand and it’s a challenge for the club and Kenyan football to invest in technology. My target still remains to squeeze further in the tournament and hopefully, we will be crowned champions.”