Retired FIFA referee Ace Ncobo has added a legal voice of reason to the debate on Orlando Pirates' controversial winning goal against Cape Town City.
Pirates were made to sweat for a 2-1 Betway Premiership victory over Cape Town City at Orlando on Saturday to stay within touching distance of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Haashim Domingo opened the scoring for the visitors in a brilliant counter-attacking move that caught the Soweto giants' defence in sixes and sevens.
Jose Riveiro's men returned a more motivated outfit in the second half, however, finding the equaliser via Tshegofatso Mabasa.
Mosele fired home the winner with just three minutes left on the clock, much to the jubilation of The Ghost.
The goal has become a subject of debate on social media with certain sections of the footballing community arguing the midfielder appeared to be in an offside position when the ball was played to him and may have even used his arm to get the ball over the line.
Orlando Pirates benefited, Mosele was in an offside position when he scored this goal. @SAFA_net match officials are doing a very good job in terms of pushing this old underachieving team this season.… https://t.co/PYQvsoaBGu pic.twitter.com/7czuqwrtV0
— Sundowns Online Branch (@MSFC__) February 22, 2025
Reviewing the match on SuperSport TV's ExtraTime, Ncobo revealed that the angle made it difficult to offer a proper analysis but dismissed suggestions of an arm being used.
"I don't have a good enough angle to make a conclusive decision on whether or not it was offside," offered Ncobo.
"But what I watched for was the position of the assistant referee at that moment. When you look at that moment, when the ball is headed into place, there seems to be one foot of the Orlando Pirates player (Mosele) inside the goal area whilst that second-last defender, both feet are outside the area.
"But you can't tell from this angle.
"What I do trust, though, is that the assistant referee is correctly positioned at that moment and when he allows play to continue, I can only trust that he may have seen them being in line.
"I don't think there is a case for handball because it comes from another limb of his own body.
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"The finish itself is that area of the arm, which is deemed to part of the shoulder," he explained further.
Nevertheless, Riveiro's troops will be aiming to narrow the gap when they travel to the Free State to battle Marumo Gallants on Saturday.
The match will be played at the Toyota Stadium.