AmaZulu have written an official letter to the Premier Soccer League to express their dismay at their goal against Royal AM being disallowed in their DStv Premiership match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Usuthu president Sandile Zungu exclusively told iDiski Times that they have written a complaint to the league and they feel Luxolo Badi should be punished for his massive blunder.
Badi denied Usuthu what appeared to be the legitimate goal in the second half when Pule Ekstein thought he had equalised.
However, he was overruled by second assistant on the far side, Simukele Jali, that there was an offside before the goal was scored, while replays show there wasn’t.
In the middle of the whole incident, there was a handball by Samuel Manganyi, who appeared to have handled the ball, but according to the interpretation of the rules, it was not a handball for the penalty.
The ball struck Mangany’s limb first before hitting his arm. But when it came to the offside call, it was clearly not and the goal should have stood as the last person to kick the ball was from Royal AM, leaving Zungu to be left stunned about Badi’s officiating.
“We have already submitted our letter of complaint to the league and it is up to the PSL rules and what sanction they are going to take,” Zungu told iDiski Times.
“As far as I’m concerned, this smells more than incompetence, it smells more… I mean you remember this guy was named PSL Referee of the Season?
“There is something more sinister than this. It is more than just incompetent. His decision was embarrassing.
“This is the game that was broadcast live and it provides content to the rest of the world what South African football is like.
“It is embarrassing that we are showcasing this to the world, the nonsense that we are showcasing in terms of refereeing standards.
“The game was great and I’m taking nothing away from Royal AM, they gave it their best and from my players as well.
“But referee’s decision, for me, speaks to more than just incompetence. This has to be investigated. I don’t accept that this is just incompetence. I think some of these referees are serving other agendas.”
While Usuthu were denied an equaliser by this call, they still salvaged a point thanks to Bongi Ntuli’s volley in the 87th minute that saw the spoils shared.
But there was controversy around the game, as representatives from Royal AM – around president Shauwn ‘Ma’ Mkhize – clashed with AmaZulu security personnel after the match.
Story by Robin-Duke Madlala (@duke_robin).
