Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo was critical of referee Luxolo Badi after the intense clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs.
Amakhosi handed Sundowns a blow in their title aspirations after holding them to a 1-1 draw at a sold-out Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.
Although Sundowns moved three points clear of Orlando Pirates, the Buccaneers now have a chance to secure the title should they win all their games.
However, the main talking point of the match, especially the first half, was the over-the-top aggressiveness from both sides, which ended with Keano Cupido fracturing a collar bone and Mduduzi Shabalala has a dislocated shoulder, as per SABC.
After the match, Khumalo admitted some players didn’t cope with the pressure of the game of such a magnitude, but equally criticized the referee.
“It was an unfortunate situation because you could tell the game is tense because of both teams wanted a result,” he said on SABC3.
“When I look at the game, when I was watching the game I could see the players are struggling with mental toughness.
“They couldn’t cope because emotions went high and some form of the players was low, the pressure was high, not consistent performance from either.
“But a game of two halves, Chiefs might have dominated the game first half but allowed Sundowns after making better substitutions second half, then they become to be the Sundowns we know.
“They started knocking the ball, hence they equalized. But other than that I thought we should’ve seen a better referee.
“Why I’m saying a better referee – do your job!”
‘Four Players Could’ve Been Sent Off’
Khumalo’s colleague in studio, Hlompho Kekana also criticized the intensity of the game, saying several players were lucky not to be sent off before the half-time break.
“In a match where there 12-15 fouls and seven yellow cards and one red card, I thought this was a match Maboe needs to forget and easily move on to the next one,” he added.
“Because I thought that was a red card, he is a lucky boy. Like I mentioned Ndlovu, Allende, Mudau, Adams, in this match, they were very lucky to finish the 45 minutes, simply because of the tackles.
“That’s a second yellow for Ndlovu. I can mention a lot of players that didn’t play in the first 45 minutes like we know them to be but of course in the second half it became better, they started putted the ball on the ground, they tried to play.
“But I thought in the first 45 minutes they spoilt it for us.”
