Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has made a reasonable plea to the appointed match officials ahead of the sold-out Nedbank Cup semi-final clash between the Buccaneers and Kaizer Chiefs.
The much-anticipated Soweto Derby encounter is set to be staged at the FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon [15:00].
Riveiro, along with a growing number of coaches in the DStv Premiership believe the ineptitude of referees has far-reaching consequences which affect teams and tacticians.
And with a bunch of match officials continuing to make questionable and shocking decisions, Jose Riveiro urged the referee to be ‘fair’ in the Soweto Derby.
“Well, we played them [Chiefs] three times and we beat them once in the penalties [Carling Cup] at least,” said Jose Riveiro, who wants an error-free performance from the referee.
“In all the three games, in my opinion, we played against Kaizer Chiefs, it was pretty much the same, and the games should have ended in a 0-0 draw.
“Not really good games for the spectators, that’s the sad part, with not so many goal-scoring opportunities created or moments of joy.
“So, what I want in the next derby is hopefully to show a better version of Pirates. That’s what I can control. I want us to play with passion. If we can do that, I’m sure we can find joy.
“And again, the game will be very tight as it is a Cup competition, a semi-final. There will be moments of uncertainty.”
Jose Riveiro’s PLEA TO THE REFEREE
Riveiro, who is yet to beat Chiefs in an official game since joining Pirates, highlighted perceived injustices from the past derbies.
In not so many words, the Pirates coach said that Chiefs benefited from the rub of the green in terms of decisions in recent Soweto Derby clashes.
“The last Soweto Derby, we had to play about 30 minutes in numerical inferiority where probably it should have been the opposition [Chiefs] playing with 10-man for one action early in the game [Christian Saile Basomboli’s badly timed tackle on Innocent Maela],” added Riveiro.
“So also the role of the referee in these types of games is crucial. I hope that the referee will be at a level that is required [to perform well] as in the recent derbies it was not like that.
“So that’s what I expect, a fair game, a fair fight, and I hope this time my team will be celebrating at the end of the 90 minutes,” concluded the Pirates coach.
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