Supporters accuse officials of bribing referee

Apollo XI FC based at KaBokweni, defeated God’s Chosen from Msogwaba 3-2 at KaBokweni Stadium on Sunday.

Victory came after they put more effort into the second half and managed to score again in the final minutes of the game. It was clear that the Vodacom League contenders were eager to win.

Supporters of God’s Chosen, who came in large numbers, were not happy with the outcome and allegedly accused some management officials of Apollo XI FC of bribing the referee.

Mpumalanga News is in possession of the referee’s comment, but can’t reveal it, to protect him.

Sam Mnisi, a supporters’ coordinator for God’s Chosen, also complained about the way the referee handled the game. “In the first half the judging was not fair, that’s why the fans are complaining, that’s all I can say.”

In an interview with the newspaper after Apollo XI FC’s victory, the manager of the team, Lucky Zwane said,

“I want to state this clearly that corrupt referees were fired a long time ago. It’s not true that we bribed him, it is just that they don’t want to accept that we beat then fair and square. My team played very well and deserved to win the game.

Since we started campaigning in this tournament, we’ve never been defeated by God’s Chosen. It’s a well-known fact that whenever we meet, we clinch victory. They must just accept the fact that we defeated them. They have to live with it.”

Zwane announced says his team has its focus on this Saturday’s game against Mp Hilanders at Thulamahashe.