'Africans are not going to win the World Cup if we do this' - Raja Casablanca accused of 'daylight robbery' after Mamelodi Sundowns forward Lucas Ribeiro was 'kicked,' but red card was not issued

Mamelodi Sundowns were edged 1-0 by Raja Casablanca in a Caf Champions League Group B match at Stade Larbi Zaouli on Saturday.

It was a match which saw Sundowns finishing with nine men after red cards to Bathusi Aubaas and Khuliso Mudau while the hosts also had a player sent off.

Masandawana forward Iqraam Rayners has a goal contro9versially ruled to have been scored from an offside position and the Tshwane giants also felt they deserved to be awarded a penalty during the dying stages of the contest.

Former Kaizer Chiefs wingman Junior Khanye is convinced Mauritanian referee Abdel Bouh did not handle the match well.

“When I was growing up, I respected the likes of Wydad, Raja Casablanca, Zamalek and Al Ahly because I had this thing that those teams are good,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.

“But the older I got I paid more attention and I think the North African teams they are not winning on the field like today. I think that was daylight robbery from the referee.

"There were two teams playing today and whatever decisions he made should have been equal. We know he’s human but sometimes he was told, you could see he was being influenced. How these guys play the game is very dirty and this is bad for African football," added the ex-Amakhosi winger.

“This thing should be looked into because going forward we as Africans are not going to win the World Cup if we do this.

"This game there was a penalty that was supposed to be given from a clear handball and also a red card. There was a Raja player who kicked [Lucas] Ribeiro should have gotten a red card.”

Some of the controversial incidents during the Sundowns match might spark talk that VAR is needed during the Champions League group stage up to the final.

This is something Caf has yet to invest fully in to keep up with modern football trends.

More refereeing controversies could force Caf to seriously consider having VAR in all matches of their competitions.

The Brazilians remain on the road but this time around they head to DR Congo where they face Maniema Union in their next Champions League match on Saturday.

It is a game in which they will be under pressure to pick themselves up and recover from the Raja setback.