Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they are not ashamed of benefiting from questionable officiating as the tides have turned.
Sundowns advanced to the MTN8 final after Kaizer Chiefs was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in the dying minutes of the semi-final when Mduduzi Mdantsane was hacked down by Thapelo Maseko inside the area.
Should the penalty have been awarded and Chiefs converted, they would have advanced ahead of Masandawana on the away goals rule. Added to that, the heated clash at Orlando Stadium, between the two MTN8 finalists was decided by a penalty, which Lucas Ribeiro Costa scored to win the DStv Premiership clash 1-0.
This saw Ncikazi stating people are turning a blind eye to Sundowns benefiting from referees ahead of the domestic cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
“Coach Mandla said now we are benefiting now, who cannot be thankful if you benefit,” he said.
“To be honest, I’m not ashamed because people have benefitted so much before so it is our time. Life or rather challenges do not remain the same forever but they change.
“If things are on my side I must appreciate, why must I complain? If you can say let’s open the closet and see the trophies that they have won before and see if you have a screen I was going to show you because I have a lot of finals that were decided dubiously.
“I remember others were decided with a handball, I remember others decided with a penalty where Simba Marumo was knocked, but there was nothing.
“I don’t want to go into much detail in this space, but I have seen a lot of dubious decisions in football and we must also accept that sometimes referees are human beings. We have been cheated a lot, we understand and we accept that.”
The former Golden Arrows mentor, who won the MTN8 title alongside Ncikazi went on to defend officials with the likes of Luxolo Badi placed on a rehabilitation program by the South African Football Assocation (SAFA) in the aftermath of the recent controversy.
“Referees do not have the benefit of what we all have – the slow motion – where we get to see the incident for the second time. They have to make a call immediately as and when it happens and that is not always very easy,” he added.
“We have benefitted and thank God because he is the one who decides our lives. Maybe it was God’s grace that the final should be played by Sundowns and Pirates so that people could get to witness tickets being bought in such a short space of time because people wanted to see a final that would really excite them.
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“We must thank God for giving us the opportunity to have a final like this. Again, I don’t want to lie and say – I think Sundowns is going to win on Saturday.”
