Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi questioned whether Siyabonga Mpontshane should have been booked for time wasting during the first half of their MTN8 second leg semi-final against Orlando Pirates at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
Mpontshane was booked in the second half for time wasting, but it appears Mngqithi feels the goalkeeper should have been shown a yellow card much earlier than that.
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"Have you ever seen a player scoring a goal, taking off his shirt and not getting a yellow card? Have you ever seen anything like that? Those are the situations that were paining us. One small mistake against us, it's a foul, a yellow card, it's a red card. It's clear what's happening and everybody who is watching football these days can see what's happening in the PSL. If SAFA is not doing enough to improve what is happening... I am looking at games of other teams, not only Sundowns. There's poor decision-making from the referees. But when you talk about these things, next thing you are facing the wrath of the disciplinary committee. I would not say referees are cheating, but the level of competence is not at the level that's expected in these matches," the Sundowns mentor said in a press conference held after the clash.
"Do you want to tell me in the first half there was not even one incident where Mpontshane deserved to get a yellow card? How many times did he keep the ball there and nothing is happening? But the referee is nonchalant about it. What happened to the six second rule?"
Mngqithi was also not impressed by the fact that Kermit Erasmus was not booked for taking off his jersey when he celebrated his goal.
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"If a player celebrates and takes off his shirt, it's cautionable offence. If it's not a questionable offence in a game of this magnitude, then it's something else. But the truth is, we are not vindictive. We are not looking at the referees with an eye of what he did in the past. We are looking at what is happening in the game. For the players to complain when they see something wrong, I don't see anything wrong there because when it's a small foul for us, we don't get it. But when it's a small foul for the other guys, it's there all the time."
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