AmaZulu coach Arthur “10111″ Zwane has lambasted the standard of refereeing in the PSL, suggesting Usuthu have been targeted while other teams are helped by referees to win.
Zwane recounted incidents where he feels match officials did them dirty, vowing the refereeing shenanigans will be uncovered one day.
[Clubs] must win deservedly... it shouldn’t be the case that they must survive and get points because of referees.
— Arthur Zwane, AmaZulu coach
AmaZulu, who face second-tier Casric Stars in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, finished Wednesday’s goalless league draw against Magesi at Princess Magogo Stadium with 10 men after striker Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya was sent off in the 70th minute.
“We had quite a few clear-cut chances inside the box that we could have capitalised on, but again, when you are playing against the referees [it’s difficult],” Zwane said after their draw against Magesi.
“I don’t know... last week we were playing in Cape Town (against Stellenbosch, where they lost 1-0), our keeper [Darren Johnson] had the ball, he played the ball, and when the ball was 10 metres away, the referee blew the whistle for a penalty against us. It’s getting worse... in every game [there’s an unjust decision against us].”
10111 continued with his rage over “questionable officiating at their expense”.
“In Richards Bay, Sandile [Mthethwa] is going to defend the ball, and he’s being pushed with two hands, and they (Bay) nearly scored in the dying minutes of the game ... they (the match officials) gave nothing, but when it’s us, they always judge,” the Usuthu coach said.
“Even last week, we scored, and they blew the whistle while the ball was still in the air ... the player they blew the whistle for is the one who was trying to stop Sandile ... Sandile avoided him, and he fell, then we conceded a foul when Sandile didn’t even use his hands.
“So it’s getting worse week in, week out. I don’t understand where football is going if we have to save people like this in this league. People must win; they must win deservedly... it shouldn’t be the case that they must survive and get points because of referees. They must work hard.”
Zwane also felt Ngwenya’s red card against Magesi was a wrong decision, hoping God will one day lay bare what’s happening with officiating in the league.
“How can that be a red card? Or the yellow card in the first place? The striker (Ngwenya) was in attack, having the ball, and then boom! Yellow card,” Zwane said.
“You can see something is happening somewhere, but uNkulunkulu akalidli ipapa (God doesn’t eat porridge), so some things will be revealed; we can’t carry on like this. Refereeing in this country is poor and is getting worse."
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