Kaizer Chiefs penalty appeal: Why it wasn’t a robbery
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME Former PSL referee Victor Hlungwani clarifies Kaizer Chiefs' penalty appeal in Soweto Derby defeat, confirming the referee's decision was correct due to no player contact. Picture: Itumeleng English/Independent Media
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Media
Former PSL referee Victor Hlungwani poured cold water on the Kaizer Chiefs’ cries that they were denied a penalty in their Soweto Derby defeat to Orlando Pirates over the weekend.
Chiefs went down 2-1 to Pirates at FNB Stadium in their Betway Premiership encounter, but after the AmaKhosi took an early 1-0 lead, their frustrations were evident when their penalty appeal fell flat.
Chiefs midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala went down in the Pirates’ box as defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi appeared to have committed a foul.
However, on Soccer Zone, Hlungwani analysed the incident and explained why it wasn’t a penalty.
Controversial Penalty Decision Sparks Debate Ahead of Nedbank Cup Final
“Here, there is a situation where Mbokazi makes a tackle on Shabalala. When he makes the tackle, is there contact between the two players?
“We’re going to show it to you. There is no contact between the two players. You can see that when Mbokazi made that tackle, Shabalala jumped, but he was not touched. Therefore, that was the correct decision for the referee not to give a penalty.”
This comes after Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi believed his side had been the recipients of a poor decision.
“If we had gotten that penalty, it would have been a completely different game. It is a game that we believe we should not have lost today. It is a situation that happens in football, and we feel that at the beginning of the game, we had control, scored early,” Nabi told SABC Sport.
"And had the opportunity to kill the game, and most of the time when you do not take your opportunities, when you have your best moments, you give the opportunity to the opponents to stay alive," he added.
The teams will clash for the second time in the space of a week when they meet in the Nedbank Cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban, on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3.30pm.