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Safa’s review committee rules that Nurković opening goal was not offside

Pitso Mosimane head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Absa Premiership match between Chippa United and Mamelodi Sundowns at Nelson Mandela Stadium on August 14, 2019 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Pitso Mosimane head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Absa Premiership match between Chippa United and Mamelodi Sundowns at Nelson Mandela Stadium on August 14, 2019 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Image: Michael Sheehan/Gallo Images

The SA Football Association (Safa) Review Committee has ruled that the opening goal by Samir Nurković for Kaizer Chiefs in their 2-0 Absa Premiership win over Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday is legitimate.

Mosimane vehemently argued that Nurković was offside when he opened the scoring but the Review Committee came out in defence of the decision by referee Victor Hlongwane and his assistants to allow the goal to stand.

“During the match‚ when Kaizer Chiefs’ Reeve Frosler played the ball into the opponents’ penalty area‚ both Chiefs’ Leonardo Castro and Samir Nurkovic were not in an offside position.

"Sundowns’ Mosa Lebusa and Chiefs’ Castro jumped to head the ball but both missed it‚” explained a statement that was attributed to the Review Committee.

“Castro neither played nor touched the ball from his team-mate Frosler and this is evidenced by the fact that the ball never changed direction nor the trajectory.

"Nurkovic who was not in an offside position when the ball was initially played by his team-mate Frosler and that Castro did not make contact with the ball‚ the Assistant Referee was correct in not flagging for offside‚ based on fact connected with Law 11 (Offside).

“It then stand to reason that Nurkovic scored a legitimate goal.

"It would have been a different decision had his team-mate Castro played or touched the ball‚ then the goal would have been disallowed in that instance‚” concluded the Committee findings.

Over the past few weeks‚ Mosimane has relentlessly attacked match officials where he suggested that there is a bias towards current log leaders Chiefs.

After the loss to Chiefs on Sunday‚ Mosimane continued to attack match officials by claiming that they benefited Chiefs who host Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout‚ quarter-final in Durban on Saturday.

“We have to look at them again next week‚ I want to see if officials will make a mistake against Pirates.... let’s see.

"Something has to give now‚ I don’t know if Pirates supporters will allow it.

"You can’t win every day by referee’s mistakes‚ it must stop‚ it’s enough.

"We have seen it before but now it’s worse‚ it is a series. It’s okay when it happens once but this is a series‚ is this a football match or what? Excuse me‚” he said on Sunday.

Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has also heavily criticised referees and he recently suggested that Chiefs got preferential treatment in their Telkom Knockout‚ Last 16 clash.

“The referee was terrible‚ he might as well have just put on a Kaizer Chiefs shirt‚” McCarthy told reporters last week.

Meanwhile‚ PSL prosecutor Nande Becker has given Mosimane five days to respond to letters sent to him to either deny or admit the comments attributed to him in the media about referees.