Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery says two controversial refereeing decisions that cost the Mariners dearly against Melbourne City — accompanied by farcically lengthy VAR deliberations — have set the A-League Men competition back.

Refereeing and the VAR again came under the spotlight after the Mariners were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in the 87th minute. Mariners were trailing 2-3 when Mathew Leckie stepped on Lewis Miller's foot.

That followed Melbourne City's first-half equaliser coming via a contentious penalty call against Kye Rowles, who appeared to initially foul Marco Tilio outside the box, but was ruled to have done so in the area.

On both occasions, referee Shaun Evans consulted with VAR Kris Griffiths-Jones, then spent several minutes reviewing footage before upholding his original decisions.

"It's tough for referees to make calls, the game is so quick," Montgomery said.

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"But, when you have VAR and I'm looking at the screen and I can see [the Miller incident is] a penalty, and I can see that the first one is outside the box. Maybe they need to get together and really have a look at it.

"I think it's sad for the game. I think the game has been ruined tonight. I think it's a spectacle that Australian football didn't need.

"There [are] a lot of positives here. It's been a transition with everything that's gone on, but nights like tonight really set the competition back and it's sad for football."

Miller, on the bench after Leckie's challenge left him with a gash on his foot, could be seen saying "what is the point of VAR?" on Paramount+ coverage when Evans upheld the late decision.

Montgomery could also be heard talking to officials after the second incident, describing it as "an embarrassment to the game".

The outrage was not limited to the Mariners and their fans.

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Sydney FC chief executive and A-Leagues managing director Danny Townsend posted on Twitter, saying he could "totally understand the vitriol" after the incidents.

"Will be seeking answers. Won't comment further until I get those answers. Rest assured I understand the gravity of it," he tweeted.  

Afterwards, Montgomery stressed VAR decisions needed to be made quickly to get the game moving again.

"Everyone watches the [English] Premier League. Why do we watch the Premier League? Because it's the best league in the world," he said.

"It's always got to be about the product. People want to watch a game."

City star Jamie Maclaren scored from the earlier controversial penalty but lamented the preceding delay.

"In the first half, when I had the penalty, when it drags on and drags on, you start questioning where you're going to put it," he told Paramount+.

"Look, he's got a tough decision to make but you want them quicker.

"Because players, we ended up having a conversation with the Mariners boys for about three or four minutes, which you don't normally do, and shouldn't happen.

"So we want it quicker and also consistently."

AAP/ABC