Orlando Pirates were correctly awarded a penalty against Kaizer Chiefs! Two former Fifa referees agree with 'beautiful' Masixole Bambiso decision - 'In rugby that is allowed but in football, you cannot use hands to hold somebody'

Orlando Pirates played Kaizer Chiefs in the Premier Soccer League's Soweto Derby on Saturday.

The fans from either side were impressed by the display of the players.

When it looked like the game would end goalless, referee Masixole Bambiso adjudged Njabulo Blom to have fouled Relebohile Mofokeng in the danger zone and Patrick Maswanganyi scored from the spot.

Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi and a majority of the fans felt it was not a penalty. c\

The referee was accused of making a controversial decision at the death, arguing Mofokeng was clear even after the claimed foul.

However, former Fifa referee Ace Ncobo has lauded Bambiso for his bravery, insisting his call was spot on.

“We’ve got to applaud the bravery of the decision, first and foremost,” he told Extra-Time.

“I’ve heard many thinks about ‘advantage’ – let’s first rule that out, there was no advantage given by the referee. 

“At no point during the entire phase of play does he stretch out any arm of him to indicate there is an advantage. He looks at the situation, blows the whistle and points at the penalty spot. No advantage was given!

"The referee blows his whistle the moment the ball scraps past the outside of the upright. Did he give an advantage? No. Would he have been correct in giving an advantage? No. Because there was no advantage realised. There was no striker against whom an offense was made in possession of the ball – so it wouldn’t have been an advantage," Ncobo added.

Another former Fifa referee Victor Hlungwani has sided with Ncobo regarding the decision to award Bucs the penalty.

“We saw two hands [by Blom] going onto the shoulders of Rele. Is that allowed in football? No. In rugby that is allowed but in football you cannot use hands to hold somebody," he said on Sports Night Amplified.

“What is ‘holding’ when we go to the laws of the game? It says [reading]: ‘A holding offence occurs only when a player’s contact with an opponent’s body or equipment impedes the opponent’s movement’. 

“What is ‘impedes’? We go again to the law to look at the football terms. ‘Impedes’ means to, ‘delay or block or prevent an opponent’s action or movement’. Did Blom impede the movement of Mofokeng? The answer is yes," he continued.

“Now, the referee, Masixole, did not blow the whistle; he waited as part of the advantage. When he waited, because the player was now stumbling and he ended up kicking the ball [wide], the advantage did not materialise. 

“When that does not materialise the referee is within his right to bring it back and punish the original offence. Some say he gave the advantage; he delayed. When you give advantage you signal with the hand. Once you signal you can no longer come back and punish the original offence," Hlungwani concluded.

Ncobo has further explained why Blom was not shown a straight red card since he was the last person.

“The second point, people have been asking ‘why no red card?’ Because holding and there is an obvious goalscoring opportunity, even if the penalty is awarded, it’s a straight red because there was no attempt to play the ball. But as soon as the goalkeeper came out, he killed any obviousness of a goalscoring opportunity... that is why it became an ordinary situation of a player holding an opponent and, penalty awarded. 

"Spot-on decision in awarding a penalty, spot-on decision in handing out a yellow card, spot-on decision in the bravery of the moment. Beautiful from the referee," Ncobo concluded.

There have been calls for VAR introduction to help minimize the referee's mistakes.

The fans are waiting for the technology to be introduced in the Premier Soccer League to eliminate controversial calls.