Why I walked off ? Belboda
Devonshire Colts temperamental striker Marvin Belboda yesterday gave a full explanation for his decision to walk off the pitch during Sunday?s Premier Division clash at Southampton Oval where his team suffered a 5-2 mauling.
Belboda, who returned to the Colts line-up at the beginning of the season following a two-year stint at Somerset Trojans, contends he received permission from referee Cal Simons before leaving the field of play in the 61st minute after his bench refused to substitute him.
And that claim has been backed up by the ref himself.
Belboda explained that he injured his right toe during the match but pleas to be substituted fell on deaf ears as the Colts bench ignored him, leaving the player with no alternative but to limp off the pitch ? much to the bewilderment of his team-mates and everyone else around the ground.
?I was telling my bench to take me off because I had injured my toe but they told me to stay on,? he said yesterday.
?They had made an earlier substitution and I asked to come off but they didn?t take me off. When I got up into the changing room my toe was bleeding.
?That?s why I really came off ? I was frustrated. My head was all over the place, but not to the extent where I just walked off because I am tired of getting in trouble. I am finished with all of that . . . that just took me back five or six years ago.?
Belboda was referring to a lengthy suspension handed down by Bermuda Football Association following a bottle-throwing incident at the same ground several years ago.
?We (Colts) had a team meeting in the dressing room after the match and I told them that I just didn?t walk off the field ? the referee knew of my intentions. I asked the referee could I go off, I just didn?t leave my team,? he added.
Referee Simons confirmed yesterday that the player had consulted with him prior to leaving the pitch.
?He (Belboda) did inform he was going off the field and I just waved my hand and said ?fine?. Otherwise I would have given him a yellow card for walking off the pitch. So, yes, he was given permission to leave the field,? said Simons.
Colts officials, meanwhile, were remaining tight-lipped over the matter yesterday with a spokesperson stating: ?The matter will be dealt with internally.?