Former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Benedict Tso Vilakazi believes the Buccaneers should have been awarded a penalty for Khulumani Ndamane’s tackle on Patrick Maswanganyi in the sides Betway Premiership game on Wednesday.
The incident happened in the first half in Sundowns’ box just before the defending champions scored the opener at the FNB Stadium, with Jelly Chavani judging Ndamane played the ball.
The Brazilians went on to win the encounter 2-1 to narrow the gap at the top of the log to three points with a game in hand.
Tso says the referee was inconsistent in applying the rules as the same incident happened earlier in the game involving Jayden Adams who was penalised. The former Pirates captain believes if the rules were applied properly the game might have turned out differently.
“When you get the ball and it’s a follow through it’s a foul,” said Tso on iDiski TV.
“It also happened with Adams in the midfield, he got the ball, he got the man, it was a foul but then in that incident why didn’t that apply?
“He [Ndamane] came from the side, I can even say he came from the back because he was recovering when Tito was there.
“As a player when you have the ball and you are going forward you are always going to protect the ball and put your leg there, that’s what Tito did.
“How did the referee not see that he [Ndamane] touched him [Tito] and got the ball when they say a follow through is a foul.
“From that action the game changed because that’s where Sundowns got the ball and that was it. No doubt that was supposed to be a penalty.
“It was going to change the whole complexion of the game if Pirates converted the penalty. But we will never know.”
You can view Tso’s full analysis of the Betway Premiership match between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns on iDiski TV official YouTube channel.