‘Referees don’t come to our training’: Riveiro on controversial officiating
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has commented on the controversial officiating in their DStv Premiership match against Cape Town Spurs.
The Buccaneers were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened CT Spurs on Wednesday night at Orlando Stadium. They failed to make it two successive wins in the league following their 1-0 victory over Polokwane City last Saturday.
Pirates missed the opportunity to go second on the Premiership table after dropping points at home against the Urban Warriors. The Soweto giants occupy fifth position on the log with 30 points in 19 matches.
Ezimnyama Ngenkani took an early lead against CT Spurs in the 11th minute, courtesy of Relebohile Mofokeng’s strike. The Cape Town-based outfit found an equaliser in the 76th minute through Gadiel Kamagi.
In the closing minutes of the encounter, Pirates forward Zakhele Lepasa looked to have been fouled in the penalty box. However, the referee Eugene Mdluli waved play on to deny the Ghosts a chance to claim all three points from a spot kick.
The Pirates’ appeal for a penalty resulted in a heated exchange on the touchline between CT Spurs coach Ernst Middendorp and Pirates’ Jose Riveiro.
JOSE RIVEIRO COY ON PIRATES’ PENALTY APPEAL
With the 2023 MTN8 winners denied what looked to be a clear penalty, Riveiro has remained coy on the performance of the match officials.
“I don’t think this is a space to analyse the performance of the referees. I’ve never seen the referees training with us during the week,” Riveiro said when asked about officiating.
“They are not part of our team, I can only speak about my team and not find excuses about other elements.
“Tomorrow, the referees don’t come to our training; they are not gonna be with us on Friday. So it’s something that we cannot control.”
Pirates will look to bounce back to winning ways when they face rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
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