‘For the gaffer’ – Cardiff beat Swans for grieving Riza

Cardiff City’s resounding 3-0 derby win over Swansea City was for manager Omer Riza after his “extremely difficult” week, says assistant coach Tom Ramasut.

Before his death on Thursday, Riza had traveled to London to see his father, Josh, but the Bluebirds manager was back for training on Friday and on the touchline on Saturday as Cardiff won the biggest derby league game since 1965.

The home fans at Cardiff City Stadium paid a touching tribute to Riza during the game as they sang “This one’s for your dad”, which the manager acknowledged with a wave and applause.

The Bluebirds fans praised Riza, 45, despite the fact that he was given a standing ovation for a late confrontation with Swansea midfielder Goncalo Franco.

“It’s really heartwarming because I know there’s been a lot of great messages from fans”, said Ramasut, who took the post-match media interviews as Riza’s red card precluded him from doing them.

“It’s been an extremely difficult week. His father passed away on Thursday, he drove back home on Wednesday to spend some time with him, we trained Thursday, did media and the signing of Yousef]Salech] and then he drove back home to spend the last moments with his father, which is extremely difficult. He then went back to the house and got ready for Friday’s game.

” What’s been such a warming feeling is the support he’s had from the players, all the staff, and the togetherness we’ve shown and I’m sure he’s taken a lot of comfort from that.

“I’m sure his father will be looking down. I believe he believed that taking on a responsibility was the best course of action.

For only their fifth win in 14 derbies, Cardiff defeated Swansea 3-2, with Callum Robinson scoring two goals in the second half and Dimitrios Goutas adding a third.

The Bluebirds’ victory increased their chances of surviving in the Championship and placed them in 20th place overall, more important than delivering such a decisive blow against their archrivals.

After the final whistle, a roil erupted, with almost every Cardiff and Swansea player and staff member involved in a scuffle.

This game generates a lot of emotion for both cities and clubs. That’s understandable and that’s what makes it the fixture it is, “said Ramasut.

We want to see our players and supporters passionate, which is exactly what we want. Just be careful not to cross the line, we must be careful.

“Omer may have felt that some of the players may have done that, that they might not have been disrespectful, and that it may have just sparked and sparked some of the emotion at the end.

You saw that at the end because those players were up for their manager, I assure you.

“I’d like to think]Swansea players] know the situation the manager is in. Then whether anything was said, you’ve just got to be mindful of that.

” If that was the trigger, I’m not 100% sure, but there could have been things said. We want it to be full of passion and emotion, that’s what it is, but it’s always done with an element of respect. “

Ramasut asked if the Swansea players’ alleged disrespect had anything to do with Riza’s father when asked if it was true. I’m not saying that at all.