Former PSL referee Victor Hlungwani has given his verdict on the Kaizer Chiefs’ penalty appeal in the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates this past weekend.
Amakhosi suffered a 2-1 defeat against their crosstown rivals in the Betway Premiership at FNB Stadium. In the current campaign, Pirates have completed a league double over Chiefs after the first round clash finished 1-0 in favour of the Buccaneers.
The Glamour Boys had a decent start to the match after finding the back of the net in the opening two minutes of the encounter. However, Pirates overturned the scoreline after scoring a goal on each half through Evidence Makgopa and Relebohile Mofokeng to collect maximum points.
Before Pirates equalised in the first-half, Chiefs appealed for a penalty after Mduduzi Shabalala looked to have been fouled by Mbekezeli Mbokazi in the box.
In the post-match interview, Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi said his side was denied a clear penalty by referee Eugene Mdluli.
WHAT VICTOR HLUNGWANI SAID ABOUT CHIEFS’ PENALTY APPEAL IN THE DERBY
After the big debate, the retired referee Victor Hlungwani revealed that it was a correct decision not to award Chiefs a penalty as Mbokazi didn’t make any contact with Shabalala.
“Here, there is a situation where Mbokazi makes a tackle on Shabalala. When he makes the tackle, is there contact between the two players? Hlungwani asked on Soccer Zone while demonstrating on a monitor on Monday night.
“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.”
Meanwhile, the Naturena-based side will face Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final, marking their second consecutive clash within a week.
The two Soweto giants will face off in the highly-anticipated final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, 10th of May. Kickoff is at 15:30.
Chiefs could end their nine-year trophy drought should they win the cup, while Pirates will be looking to give Jose Riveiro yet another domestic two before he leaves the club at the end of the season.
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