The team from Bluetongue Stadium were infuriated by the treatment they received at the hands of the referee in the lucrative final of a pre-season competition

The Central Coast Mariners have slammed the performance of the referee and his assistants in a 2-1 defeat to Arema FC in the Menpora Cup final in Indonesia on Sunday.

The reigning A-League champions conceded two questionable penalties in the defeat, and Central Coast assistant coach Phil Moss said the performance of referee Oki Dwi Putra Senjaya had left the team with 'a sour taste in our mouths'.

An official Mariners press release claimed the team were 'on the end of two highly contentious penalty calls and countless other suspect refereeing decisions.'

The release went on to claim that 'the weight of the refereeing decisions clearly [favoured] the Indonesian Super League side' and said 'legitimate Central Coast attacking raids were called back for offside.'

Despite the match serving as a pre-season clash for the Mariners, the game was played in front of 38,438 fans at Kanjuruhan Stadion and there was US$75,000 on the line for the winning team.

"It is clear only one team was meant to win tonight's final - and it most certainly wasn't us," Moss said.

"Many of the Arema players and staff felt compelled to apologise to our boys after the game, so that should give people some indication of what's gone on tonight."

Arema opened the scoring in the first half after John Hutchinson's sliding challenge in the box in the 41st minute was deemed a foul, despite the Mariners midfielder appearing to win the ball.

Striker Keith Gumbs made the most of the opportunity, hitting the back of the net from the spot.

Central Coast attacking midfielder Marcos Flores levelled the scoring just four minutes later.

However, Hutchinson was deemed to have handled in the box 10 minutes into the second half, leading to another Arema penalty.

Gumbs made no mistake from the spot, giving the 41-year-old St Kitts and Nevis international his second goal and clinching the win for his side.