Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz has challenged key refereeing decisions following his side’s 2-1 Soweto Derby defeat to Orlando Pirates, claiming that an offside goal and a potential missed red card influenced the tie.
Amakhosi lost to Pirates in the Betway Premiership at the sold-out FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the defending champions reclaiming the top spot on the league table.
The Glamour Boys started brightly, creating several scoring chances in the opening exchanges. They had a golden opportunity in the 12th minute to take the lead against Pirates through Wandile Duba. However, Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine saved the striker’s close-range shot.
After Chiefs missed their chances, Pirates scored the opening goal in the 24th minute with a strike from Yanela Mbuthuma that deflected off Chiefs defender Thabo Moloisane.
The 2025 Nedbank Cup champions levelled with a goal from Pule Mmodi after Chaine made a mistake at the back.
After going into the half-time break at 1-1, Pirates netted the second goal courtesy of Tshepang Moremi, who received a perfect pass from Thapelo Mokobodi. Moremi’s late second-half goal secured maximum points for the Buccaneers.
Da Cruz’s charges finished the match with 10 men after defender Inacio Miguel received a second yellow card in stoppage time.
WHAT FERNANDO DA CRUZ SAID ABOUT OFFICIATING IN THE SOWETO DERBY
Speaking after the final whistle, the Chiefs coach couldn’t hide his disappointment with referee Luxolo Badi, blaming him for failing to issue a red card to Simphiwe Selepe, among other incidents.
“The analysis of the match is very easy; in the first half we should have killed this game with 2-0 or 3-0,” Da Cruz said in an interview with SuperSport TV.
“We’ve seen that the goal of Pirates is offside, and maybe there is a red card as well. So if we scored two or three goals, we could have killed this game. And in the last 20 minutes of the second half, our young players, they have a lack of experience, so they didn’t create chances to score more goals.
“So we know where we must improve. They [Pirates] created nothing; we gave them offensive transitions, but we could have killed this game in the first-half.”
Following their first league setback of the campaign at the hands of Pirates, Chiefs sit fifth in the standings with 14 points after nine outings. The Sea Robbers, on the other hand, extend their run at the top with 25 points, maintaining an impressive record of eight wins and one draw in nine matches.
RELATED STORY: Fernando Da Cruz emerges as favourite for Kaizer Chiefs head coach role
