Mngqithi reveals what ‘opened his eyes’ about referee Akhona Makalima
Following Golden Arrows’ 1-0 defeat to Magesi FC on Saturday afternoon, Abafana Bes’thende head coach Manqoba Mngqithi revealed what ‘opened his eyes’ about referee Akhona Makalima, whom he had ‘trusted’.
The Betway Premiership tie between Dikwena Tsa Meetse and Arrows took place at Seshego Stadium in Polokwane.
Lehlogonolo Mokone scored the only goal for the Limpopo club to hand Mngqithi his first defeat since returning to Arrows.
In a post-match interview, Mngqithi was not pleased with how FIFA referee Makalima, handled the game, insisting the match official lost grip of the encounter, stating that she was not fair.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor believes that some of the decisions the referee took were mostly against his side – Arrows.
MANQOBA MNGQITHI ON BAD OFFICIATING BY AKHONA MAKALIMA
Mngqithi also asserted that the referee committed obvious errors that led to their defeat.
The source of Mngqithi’s concern stems from referee Makalima’s decision to not award Arrows a penalty after striker Knox Mutizwa appeared to have been fouled inside the penalty area during the second half. Mngqgithi described the foul as ‘blatant.’
Additionally, Arrows midfielder Sibusiso Sibeko was involved in a tackle within the penalty area, but Mngqithi indicated he would need to review the incident to confirm whether a penalty should have been given.
“I don’t think there’s much that can be done. If people commit blatant mistakes and they are not banned or suspended, what else can we do? Because we don’t want to lose the referees we have,” said Mngqithi.
“We don’t have many referees as well. And the ones who were here, I honestly trusted Akhona [Makalima]; I don’t want to lie. I know she’s capable of making honest mistakes, and I accept that, but the penalty foul on Knox opened my eyes because I thought that one was a blatant foul in front of her eyes. There was nothing that was impeding her from seeing clearly what happened.
“But the Sibusiso [Sibeko] foul, I don’t want to lie and say I’m clear about it [it was a penalty]. I still have to check that one because I’m not sure whether the defender got to the ball first before it caught him. But I just saw a defender behind and a player in front falling and the ball not in front of him.”
‘WE ARE AT THAT STAGE OF THE SEASON’, SAYS MANQOBA MNGQITHI
Mngqithi also stated that he saw how Richards Bay FC complained about the match officiating when they lost to Magesi 1-0 on Tuesday, 11 March 2025.
He went on to divulge that the very same thing happened during Magesi FC’s league match against SuperSport United on the 1st of March 2025, where Dikwena Tsa Meetse won 1-0.
“But I saw what happened to Richards Bay FC during the week, and we are not talking about the same referee; we are talking about different referees,” Mngqithi added.
“So, it’s sad. In the SuperSport United game, I saw what happened on this field. But I think we are at that stage of the season where things like this happen.”
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