Swallows coach Middendorp stops short of swearing at referee

In the post match conference after Swallows FC were held to a goalless draw by TS Galaxy this weekend, one could count the non-vulgar words used by The Birds head coach Ernst Middendorp.

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He could certainly not hide his frustration at the match officials on the day.

The experienced mentor was left fuming when Gregory Damons was sent off for a rash foul on Mlungisi Mbunjana though in retrospect, referee Skhumbuso Gaza’s decision was justified.

However, the officials erred in the dying moments of the game when they flagged a Keegan Allan “goal” offside, when the goal-scorer was clearly onside.

Middendorp, unlike most coaches, says even though there continues to be glaring errors made by referees, the Premier Soccer League is not ready for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

“I see that the bigger problem is that if you have VAR you need a lot of competence, knowledge and experience. Now we have a lot of decision-making that goes wrong and you want to tell me that if we have this, who is going to handle it and who is qualified to do so?” said Middendorp.

The former Kaizer Chiefs mentor went on to slam Mbunjana, suggesting that his reaction to the foul on him would be better appreciated in Hollywood.

“It was acting of this number eight on the highest level to force the referee to give a red card, and then influence the entire game. It’s all nonsense and we have to accept this nonsense. At the moment I am not surprised that we have to accept certain circumstances, then we must move on,” added Middendorp.

The Birds are up against Sekhukhune on Friday, and the German coach is optimistic about his side’s chances of steering away from the red zone.

“It is not about losing or winning, it is about collecting points. I have been here for a month and people are asking me when the results are coming. We have no capacity to sign players and have to work with what we have,” he said.