Mamelodi Sundowns‘ penalty against Espérance de Tunis in their CAF Champions League semi-final second leg was the right call, according to former PSL referee Victor Hlungwani.
Sundowns sealed their place in the final with a 2-0 aggregate semi-final win over ES Tunis at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.
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They backed up their 1-0 first-leg result in Tunis with a clean sheet at home as Colombian marksman Brayan Léon Muñiz scored in both ties.
Just half an hour into the clash in Tshwane, the Brazilians were awarded a spot kick after replay clearly showed ES Tunis goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said had completely missed a clearance with his left foot which caught Muñiz just below the ribs.
Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan did not hesitate to point to the spot. The Colombian striker then stepped up to coolly convert the resulting penalty which was the deciding goal as Sundowns marched on.
‘The Principal’ was full of praise for Artan in awarding the penalty, dismissing any notions that there was a handball by Muñiz in the process before being fouled.
“The law says kicking an opponent [is an offence],” he said on Soccerzone.
“Leon there kicked by Said in the penalty area. There was a kick, so when the kick happened, it was in a reckless manner.
“Some say there was a handball [by Brayan], but we don’t have evidence of handball because in this match, we can tell you there was VAR.
“When there’s VAR, they check all the goals for potential fouls.
“VAR found nothing. There’s a shoulder where the ball comes from the shoulder, so, from the shoulder where does happen start, it starts from the bottom of the armpit going down.
“Correct decision by Omar from Somalia to give a penalty.”
Sundowns have advanced to the CAF Champions League final, for the second consecutive season, where they will bid for continental glory against Moroccan outfit ASFAR – who are unbeaten in the Botola Pro this season and saw off fellow Morrocan outfit RS Berkane to reach the last two.
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