AmaZulu coach blames referees for Sundowns loss

AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin was left gobsmacked after his side were denied what looked like a legitimate goal in the 1-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night.

Usuthu should have at least earned a draw against the defending champions in a league encounter but Hendrick Ekstein’s goal in the 65th minute was ruled out for offside.

The margins were tight but TV replays showed that the attacking midfielder was a fraction onside and should have been given the benefit of the doubt from the lines-man who raised his flag.

“Tomorrow in the newspapers and on the league table, it will say that we lost the game 1-0 but today AmaZulu beat the best team in Africa but four people decided otherwise,” a fuming Martin said about the officiating at King Zwelithini Stadium.

“If you watch our games, it’s about time that someone says something about how unfair and badly treated we are. Again, we played against the best team in Africa and we should have beaten them but four people decided the opposite.”

Misery compounded

The Spaniard’s misery was compounded by the fact that they missed on an opportunity to contest the Carling Knockout final after a defeat to TS Galaxy in last weekend’s semifinal. AmaZulu remain in 12th position on the DStv Premiership log after 13 games following the defeat the Tshwane giants.

“It happened again in the semifinal three days ago and it has also happened many times in the league,” Martin continued in his tirade against PSL officials 

“We’ve not said anything and I think it’s an unfair situation because we would be fighting for top 4 right now and we would be in the final by now.

“It was the first time I saw them (Sundowns) wasting time even in the first half and that speaks for itself and we need to be very proud of ourselves.”