Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he doesn’t blame the referee in their game against Polokwane City for overturning a penalty decision saying things happen too fast for match officials during a game.
City defender Tlou Nkwe appeared to have handled the ball in his own half to deny Evidence Makgopa a goal scoring opportunity at the stroke of halftime at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium with the referee pointing to the spot and bit later changing his mind.
Replays showed the ball hit Nkwe’s body before hitting his arm, while the game was deadlocked.
Pirates went on to win the encounter 2-1 and stayed at the summit of the standings with 44 points. Asked about the incident Ouaddou said he put himself in the referee’s shoes and can’t find fault.
“Look, it’s very difficult in the image to see,” said Ouaddou.
“When I see the image, it seems like the ball is touching the chest and after the hand. But, you know, I want to put myself in the shoes of the referee. It’s not easy to [see] the action is too fast to see, and I don’t want to blame anyone there. It’s difficult to judge you know, it’s like that.”
Meanwhile, the coach did not want to comment on the news that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be implemented in the league next season.
This is after the Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie confirmed that his department paid the South African Football Association (SAFA) to begin implementing the technology in the local game earlier on Wednesday.
“No, this is not my job to answer for that,” added Ouaddou.
“For me, I’m just coaching my teams and trying to play some nice football and to be ambitious for our club, for our fans.
“And if something has to be decided, in that case, I put my trust and my confidence in the institutions to do so.”
