Kaizer Chiefs were not denied a penalty against Stellenbosch, says Victor Hlungwani

Former FIFA referee Victor Hlungwani has rejected claims that Kaizer Chiefs should have been awarded a late penalty in their 1-1 Betway Premiership draw with Stellenbosch.

The match took place at FNB Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October, with Stellenbosch taking the lead through Sinoxolo Kwayiba before Mduduzi Shabalala equalised for the Glamour Boys.

The main controversy came in the closing stages, when the ball appeared to strike the hand of Stellenbosch midfielder George Matlou inside the 18-yard box. Some Kaizer Chiefs supporters believed the incident should have resulted in a spot-kick.

However, Hlungwani said the decision not to award a penalty was correct, insisting that Matlou’s arm was in a natural position.

Speaking on Soccer Zone, he dismissed the claims that the Amakhosi had been treated unfairly.

“Ayikho [it’s not there], you were not robbed, Amakhosi,” Hlungwani said.

He explained that there had initially been an indication from the assistant referee that a penalty should be given, before the decision was changed to a corner.

“We need Chislett saying ‘penalty, penalty!’ The assistant said penalty and changed it to corner kick. The ref then went to go have a discussion [with the assistant referee],” Hlungwani said.

“Now let’s see if they came out with the correct decision. We see that the hand is in a natural position. Did it hit his hand? The answer is no. So no penalty!”

Chiefs suffer another setback

Kaizer Chiefs’ difficult run continued after the draw, with the Soweto club’s winless sequence reaching six matches in all competitions.

Their latest setback came in the CAF Confederation Cup, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat by Red Arrows in the first leg of their second preliminary round tie in Zambia.

Fernando Da Cruz’s side now have an opportunity to recover in the return match, which will be played at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday, 23 October.

The second leg is scheduled to kick off at 18:00, with Chiefs needing to overturn the deficit against Red Arrows to progress.