A refereeing expert has provided his verdict on Pyramids FC's two goals that were ruled out by the VAR system during the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg against Orlando Pirates.
Bucs played out a goalless draw in what was a testing first leg of the semi-finals against Egyptian outfit Pyramids at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors were left feeling hard done by the officiating on the day, as the Video Assistant Referee system ruled out not one but two of their goals. One for offside against Fiston Mayele, and the second for handball by Sodiq Awujoola.
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The validity of these decisions has dominated public debate, but former referee Victor Hlungwani has put those complaints to bed with a detailed explanation.
"Mayele scored a goal, but there is what we call deliberate play and deflection," Hlungwani said on SABC Sport's Soccer Zone on Monday evening.
"Meyele is in an offside position (when the ball is played). Indeed, he is in an offside position. Now we need to check if [Mbekezeli] Mbokazi deliberately played the ball or if it deflected.
"The law says when you jump, you are no longer in control of the ball and when Mbokazi jumps, he is no longer in control of the ball. So, that was a deflection.
"From the deflection, the player (Mayele) is now gaining an advantage by being in that position. It was the correct decision by the officials because he gained an advantage by being in that position," explained Hlungwani, before going on to address the second disallowed goal.
"The law says football does not accept a goal scored by hand, even if accidental.
"On this occasion, the ball touched the player's hand and it goes into the back of the net. What does the law say? It says even if it is accidental...
"People are confident, here we are talking of scoring with the hand. If you score with your hand, football does not allow that goal.
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"If you are a defender and you are defending and the ball [accidentally] touches your hand, that's when we can speak of natural or unnatural. But if you score with a hand as an attacker, that's not allowed," said Hlungwani.
Pirates have alredy touched down in Egypt searching for a ticket to the final, as the two teams meet in the second leg at the 30 June Stadium on Friday.
