Former Premier Soccer League referee Victor Hlungwani has stated referee Sikhumbuso Gasa was wrong to award Kaizer Chiefs their second goal in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final game against Stellenbosch last weekend.
With the game tied 1-1, the Glamour Boys won a corner that was played in. George Matlou seemed to shove goalkeeper Sage Stephens and moments later, Pule Mmodi put the ball in the back of the net. The assistant referee raised his flag for a foul on the custodian, but after a brief consultation, Gasa overruled the decision and gave Amakhosi the second goal.
Stellenbosch reacted furiously, eventually losing the game 3-1 with Mfundo Vilakazi netting a late goal.
In his review on Soccerzone, the former Fifa referee has now explained why Gasa's decision to let the goal stand was wrong.
‘You can see the infringement for yourself'
“George [Matlou] impeded the goalkeeper. So, here if you challenge the goalkeeper, an infringement has occurred. You see an assistant referee correctly positioned and the referee, but you see George not playing the ball, he plays the goalkeeper,” Hlungwani stated.
“When you challenge the goalkeeper inside the goal area, now flags comes out to say I have seen an infringement from George. You can see the infringement for yourself. The linesman now says I saw a foul, but the referee says I didn’t see a foul.
“Now, what happens after here is that the review committee will sit and determine the correct decision. Here on Soccerzone we can tell you now that the correct decision came from the assistant referee for a foul.”
Chiefs are now in the semi-final hoping to end their decade-long trophy drought while Stellenbosch will be working on getting Caf Champions League spot in the Premier Soccer League. They are also in the Caf Confederation Cup quarter-final.
