Unapologetic Miguel Cardoso opens up on where South Africa need to improve despite Mamelodi Sundowns' triumph - 'I'm not being sarcastic... PSL should have... qualified referees'

Mamelodi Sundowns successfully defended their Premier Soccer League crown for the eighth time in a row.

It was coach Miguel Cardoso's first title after replacing Manqoba Mngqithi as Masandawana's tactician.

Orlando Pirates are set to finish second for the third time in a row.

Despite winning the PSL title, coach Cardoso has been complaining about several issues.

The main one has been on the level of officiating, especially without the Video Assistant Referee.

Cardoso is also not satisfied with the playing surfaces in many stadiums, which affects his players.

Those are some of the main problems that the 52-year-old feels should be worked on.

"I think it's a record we've got from this season of goals that are legal goals but taken out [owing to incorrect officiating]; that's also a record we probably have," he told Metro FM.

"But I'm not being sarcastic when I speak about this, and we can speak a little bit about this subject; this league should have VAR, with qualified referees in front of it, I think.

"I think there are two or three aspects of South African football that should be implemented so that the level [of PSL] can grow," Cardoso continued.

"Because I'm not speaking for the air when I've said more than once that I feel the teams have quality, and coaches can develop with interesting proposals for games.

"I think the players are open-minded to working in modern methods of working and willing to become better, but I feel the structure sometimes, they don't really want to develop the game.

"And it's simple things like taking care of the quality of the pitches, and I don't want to speak badly because the president of Chippa [United, Siviwe Mpengesi] was so kind to us," he concluded.

Cardoso hopes to win the second star for Sundowns when they play Pyramids in the Caf Champions League final.

He will then continue preparations for the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup that kicks off from June 14 to July 13 in the United States.