Former Fifa referee Victor Hlungwani says the penalty given to Orlando Pirates against Royal AM shouldn’t have been awarded.
Some fans felt the penalty changed the complexion of the match. Patrick Maswanganyi was adjudged to have been fouled inside the penalty box. The midfielder converted the kick to give Pirates the lead. The Buccaneers went on to win the match 4-0.
Hlungwane said Pirates should have been awarded a freekick and the referee and his assistant were incorrect to award a penalty.
“I don’t know whether it was manna from heaven,” Hlungwani said on SABC Sport as per Goal.
“But here we can establish here on SoccerZone that an infringement happened outside the penalty area.
“Yes, Maswanganyi was tripped, a free-kick was supposed to be given. Let’s see if it happened inside or outside the box.
“Can you see the tripping there? There are almost 12 centimetres that show it happened outside the box,” added the former PSL referee on the Pirates incident.
“So, a penalty was not supposed to be given here. It was supposed to be a freekick because the infringement happened outside [the box].
“They [referee and linesman] went to consult only to come back with an incorrect decision.”
Last month, poor officiating was once questioned when Pirates played AmaZulu twice.
Abbubaker Mobara was shown a straight red card in their first encounter. The referee accused him of fouling Patrick Maswanganyi in the 21st minute. As a result, he was sent off, forcing his team to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.
Ex-PSL referee says Pirates should not have been awarded a penalty
In the Nedbank Cup quarter-final between the two teams last weekend, there was another controversial decision. AmaZulu managed to score the opening goal in the 30th minute through Pule Ekstein. However, just before half-time, Pirates were awarded a penalty. Makhehlene Makhaula was accused of being fouled by Taariq Fielies in the penalty box. As a result, Patrick Maswanganyi scored a crucial equalizer from the spot.
AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin has blasted the standard of referring in the country. In the two games he lost against, the Spaniard blamed the referee.
PSL referees are being questioned this season
“Today, I’m not going to be angry. Today I’m going to laugh because this is a never-ending story,” he said.
Pirates are not the only side to benefit from referees’ mistakes. Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns also had a few calls in their favour this season.