Golden Arrows Manqoba Mngqithi demands VAR implementation despite Nedbank Cup progression 'Which referee can manage to keep up with the speed of our attacks?'

Golden Arrows edged Stellenbosch 1-0 to secure their place in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, but the victory was overshadowed by controversy.

In the 58th minute, Ayanda Jiyane’s arm was clearly extended as he appeared to commit a handball inside the Arrows’ penalty area, yet the referee awarded a corner to the visitors, leaving Stellies players enraged. The Western Cape team was denied an opportunity that might have changed the outcomes of the clash. 

After the match, when asked about the incident, coach Manqoba Mngqithi admitted he was not fully aware of what had happened but insisted that changes are needed in how such situations are handled, advocating for advanced technology to assist match officials.

"To be honest, I have not seen it," said Mngqithi.

"But the reality is, it will go back to what I said, the game is too fast. To make some of the decisions, you need technology because the speed of the game will always, at sometimes be faster than the referees or sometimes make referees to make conclusions to say 'maybe it was too close', but when you have the second chance to look at it, you will be able to see exactly what happened."

The ex-Sundowns tactician added that he would not be happy to win by benefiting from such decisions, while also emphasising how the game has evolved.  

"And I would not appreciate to win a match with such issue, because this issue, I think I've been talking about it all along, because the reality is you must win a match without such issues," he added.

"How are we going to achieve that when we are going to be facing the same problem every week?

"Because I look at how our team attacks and I say which referee or official can manage to keep up with the speed and be able to stay with the second last defender, and those things for me are the realities of our game."

"You look at the speed of a team like [Orlando] Pirates, it will always be difficult. Look at the speed of [Kaizer] Chiefs when they played Stellenbosch, the chances they that they were getting behind the defence of Stellenbosch, and you say will the match officials have the capacity to deal with these things?"

Mngqithi continued, explaining that the evolving dynamics of modern football demand more from match officials.

"It's the reality, it's the game, it's the demands for the game, the game has become too dynamic, and the price is always too heavy for any team," Mngqith continued.

"And to lose a match, and you have complaints that maybe it should've been a penalty, maybe it should not.

"It's not good, at least we should have a second opinion, which would help to make better decisions. It's still not perfect, but it is better."