Johor Darul Ta'zim's royal owner conceded that the referee made the wrong call in awarding the goal by Mohammed Ghaddar which gave JDT a controversial 2-1 win against Perak in the Malaysia Super League (MSL) on Wednesday night.
The result meant the Southern Tigers are only one victory away from a fourth consecutive league title, which would be sealed if they beat Selangor on Aug. 5.
The Johor Crown Prince, known as TMJ, was quick to point out the mistake that helped the Johor giants.
"Both teams played well, but the referee didn't control the game as well. For me, that goal was offside," TMJ said via the Southern Tigers Facebook page.
"But let us not make Ghaddar's goal an issue. JDT were on the wrong end of refereeing decisions too. If I were to buy the referee, we would have won all the games."
At Larkin Stadium, the teams were tied at 1-1 when Ghaddar put away Gabriel Guerra's smothered effort from a clearly offside position on the hour mark.
But referee Suhaizi Syukri let it stand, much to the agitation of the Perak backline who protested furiously.
The poor officiating comes in the aftermath of an 18-month ban for Pahang coach Dollah Salleh last week after he criticised the referee for awarding a late penalty to Felda United on July 1.
Felda boss B. Satiananthan also condemned poor decision-making in failing to award sufficient stoppage time after his team fell to a 1-0 loss to Perak last Saturday.
JDT coach Ulisses Morais was delighted to have inched closer to his first silverware since arriving to take charge last month.
"When I came here, my ambition was only to win the league," Morais said. "Our reaction after conceding just before half-time was great, and I want to thank the fans who came in numbers to watch us win."
The Portuguese boss also paid tribute to Brazilian defender Marcos Antonio, who was stretchered off midway through the second half due to injury.
"This victory is for Marcos. We hope he makes a speedy recovery after this," Morais said.
JDT were made to work hard for their 14th league win after trailing through Hafiz Kamal's free-kick just before the break.
Fadhli Shas equalised just after the restart before Ghaddar controversially tucked away his 23rd league goal of the season.
There will be massive fireworks at Selayang Stadium if JDT win at Selangor next weekend to confirm yet another league title with three games to spare.