Milford FC head coach Xanti Pupuma has questioned the consistency of refereeing decisions after his side’s defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday.
Pupuma was particularly frustrated by decisions surrounding Sundowns’ opening goal and an incident in the second half when the referee initially appeared ready to produce a red card before changing it to yellow.
The officiating discussion has caught even more wind especially with the ongoing back and forth regarding the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on local shores.
After guiding his side to elite football, Pupuma
After guiding his side to elite football, Pupuma has gotten his first taste of what has become the bread and butter of Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches.
“To be honest, it’s the first time I leave a game with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe from all the coke I’ve been drinking. But really, I think some of the rules they apply to us but not to other teams,” Pupuma told SuperSport after the game.
Despite the result, the Milford coach felt his side had competed well against the Brazilians, particularly during the opening 45 minutes.
It’s a bit unfair, look at the end
“It’s a bit unfair, look at the end of the day, we had to win the game and they scored goals, the second goal ja…my players fell asleep, maybe the changes caused that,” he added.
“Overall, I think the display how they represented themselves was quite good especially in the first half and parts of the second half.”
Pupuma’s frustration centred on what he felt was inconsistent application of the laws, claiming Milford had previously been penalised in similar circumstances.
I’m actually annoyed by that because we’ve been
“I’m actually annoyed by that because we’ve been in that position before and those rules were applied to us and when it comes, we hear it’s not applied,” he said.
“Not just that, even in the second half when there was a tackle there in the middle of the park – the referee takes out a red-card and even puts it back and gives the yellow card after seeing who he was about to caution.”
For Pupuma, the decisions took away from what he believed was a competitive contest in which Milford had arrived at Loftus determined to take the game to the African champions.
He refused to allow the defeat
However, he refused to allow the defeat or his frustration with the officials to derail the team’s season.
“I know these things, they mess it up for us and they mess up a good game where we really came to impose ourselves but we’re not going to look down on ourselves,” he said.
“We’re going to pick ourselves up and play Chippa on the weekend and see what happens.”
Source: dailynews.co.za
