Officiating in the Soweto Derby came into question, with former PSL referee and now television analyst Victor Hlungwani slamming the performance of referee Jelly Chavani in the clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
With the Buccaneers victorious, the retired official believes that two spot-kicks should have been awarded as well as a first half red card, following a coming-together involving Chiefs skipper Yusuf Maart.
“(It was) an exciting derby, five goals but there’s something missing," Hlungwani highlighted on the SoccerZone television show.
"We’ll start with the first one, here’s Yusuf Maart doing what you call serious foul play, a player who endangers the safety of his opponent by using excessive force or brutally.
“He got a yellow card from Jelly Chavani, I don’t know but when Jelly sees this, he must know that this is red, straight red card,” he continued.
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The first penalty call came when Given Msimango was seen going high in the area and upending Tshegofatso Mabasa, but ended up bringing the forward down.
No call or foul was awarded before Mabasa again came together to see Edson Castillo clatter into him and bring him down in the box to which again no foul followed from the man in the middle.
“Next one it’s a penalty appeal, now does Msimango jump for the ball or opponent? He jumped for the opponent and so when a player jumps at an opponent it’s a penalty offence so a penalty should’ve been awarded for jumping at an opponent," Hlungwani explained.
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“Because there was no intention to play the ball, so he played the man and here he played the man, it’s not rugby – rugby you can do that but football we play the ball, so a penalty should’ve been awarded to Pirates.
“The next one was Mabasa again, he puts the ball on space and now comes Castillo, and when he made that challenge did, he prevent the player from going into an advantageous position? The answer is yes.
“So, another penalty should’ve been awarded for preventing an opponent from getting into an advantageous position,” he added.
Officiating in the top flight of South African football has come under fire in recent times, with fans calling for the creation of a professional structure.
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