Yanga SC coach Manuel Gamondi turned his post-match press conference into a fiery battlefield, launching a scathing attack on the referee after his side’s controversial defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Fuming and refusing to entertain questions, Gamondi accused Mauritian referee Dahane Beida of robbery and blasting his shocking application of VAR technology.
The fiery outburst came after Yanga’s heartbreaking exit from the CAF Champions League following a controversial defeat to Sundowns in the second-leg of the quarter-final clash at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Friday night.
Sundowns edged past Young Africans 3-2 on penalties after both teams couldn’t find the back of the net over two legs that started in Dar es Salam on Saturday and ended in Pretoria on Friday evening.
Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams’ heroics and a bit of luck secured the win, but Yanga felt aggrieved after a controversial disallowed goal.
Yanga SC believed they had taken the lead just before the hour mark through Aziz Ki’s audacious strike.
Television replays showed that the ball crossed the line, but referee Beida, relying solely on the VAR’s message, shockingly ruled it out as he didn’t even bother to check the ball for himself
This infuriated Yanga coach Gamondi, who felt robbed of a clear goal.
‘WE WERE ROBBED AND IT HURTS’ – YANGA COACH
“A big congratulations to my players, they played a fantastic game,” said Gamondi who won the league with Sundowns in 2006.
“We created more clearer chances than Sundowns but I don’t want to talk much anymore because I think everybody [saw] what happened here.
“Why the referee doesn’t go to check himself [on the VAR]? He wanted to check only if it was a yellow card or a red card for Lomalisa [Mutambala when he brought down Khuliso Mudau].
“If you want to defend the credibility of African football, start with that, winning the game and winning clear. I think people who were on the VAR stole the pride of the people of Tanzania.
“More than 30 million Wananchi, they felt they were robbed. If there is somebody who says no coach you are wrong, it was no goal, I’m here, tell me.
“We were robbed clear.
“If the people of Sundowns are happy with that, it’s okay. But football is not like that; we’re talking about FIFA Fair Play. In 2019, I was coaching Hassania. I played the quarter-final against Zamalek, and we scored one goal. We had the picture as well.
“I think it’s the second time I’ve been robbed. And it’s very painful. Today, honesty was not in this stadium, and this is painful for football.
“I’m not criticising Sundowns or South African people. I criticise the people who do this in the VAR in this game. The referee can make a mistake because he is a human being. But why the referee doesn’t go to check for himself?
“He says, ‘No I’m confident with the VAR’, and I see why you’re confident. But you’re not confident when there’s a decision to check a yellow card on my player.
“Wananchi, these people, it’s their first time qualifying for the quarter-final in the Champions League. We fought face to face with the best team in Africa and robbed like that.”
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