As a soccer fanatic what I have come to realise over the years is that once a referee makes a bad decision against any team in a crucial match, the cheated team will go on to lose the match.
As a kid I remember how Dion Highlands’ midfielder Andy Stanton headed home what was would have been a match-winner against Kaizer Chiefs in the 1979 Mainstay Cup Final at the Rand Stadium.
Though the ball came straight from a corner kick taken by Stanton’s teammate Jerry Sadike, referee Dave Griffiths ruled it for off-side.
The match ended in a 3-3 draw and was rescheduled as a replay st the Orlando Stadium where Chiefs eventually won the match 2-0.
In the 1980 Mainstay Cup at Orlando Stadium, Ace Mini of Moroka Swallows was fouled by the over-robust Orlando Pirates defenders Yster Khomane and Phil Setshedi at the same time inside the penalty area.
But to the astonishment of many people, referee Ephraim Mtshwane failed to point to the penalty spot in this instance.
Although Swallows tried it’s best for the rest of the game, they ended losing the match 3-2 to Orlando Pirates.
In the 1983 Mainstay Cup semifinal match at Orlando Stadium Swallows’s forward Congo Malebane used his hand to score against Durban African Wanderers.
The Wanderers players, lead by the awe-inspiring Brummie de Leur and Joel Nkabinde tried in vain to persuade the referee to change his mind and disallow the goal.
Needless to say, Wanderers, who were the best team in the day, lost the match via the said controversial goal by Malebane.
In the 1983 Mainstay Cup Final Bazooka Sishweni of Witbank Aces scored what looked like a legitimate goal in the first half against Swallows at the Ellis Park Stadium, but the referee ruled that his teammate Shando Mkhari was off-side when the ball was scored.
Aces eventually lost the game courtesy of an Ace Mnini scorcher that left goalkeeper Mahala Maimane in no-man’s land.
In the 1986 World Cup match in Mexico, legendary Maradona used the famous ” hand of God” to sink England’s hopes of proceeding in the tournament.
In the 1999 Rothman’s cup final game between Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns, Fire Masilela was ruled offside after scoring a beautiful goal against Chiefs.
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, England captain Frank Lampard’s humdinger against Germany was disallowed, with the referee ruling that the ball had not crossed the goal line and England eventually lost the match 4-1 to Germany.
Now last week Friday Young African Stars ( Yanga) of Tanzania had their goal disallowed for an off-side.
Though the team had a chance of winning the game in the resultant penalty shoot-out, this was not to be as Sundowns emerged victorious from the shoot-out.