United coach Davids expects fine after saying ref may be a Kaizer Chiefs fan

20 March 2023 - 12:53 By Sithembiso Dindi
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Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids appeals to the assistant referee during the DStv Premiership match against Kaizer Chiefs at Harry Gwala Stadium on March 18 2023.
Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids appeals to the assistant referee during the DStv Premiership match against Kaizer Chiefs at Harry Gwala Stadium on March 18 2023.
Image: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids admits he will probably face a fine after suggesting that referee Xola Sitela might be a Kaizer Chiefs fan after the Team of Choice's 3-2 DStv Premiership defeat on Saturday night.

Davids again stressed the need for the introduction video assistant referee (VAR) technology by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) as he questioned Sitela's decisions in the match at Harry Gwala Stadium, especially the penalty from which Yusuf Maart scored the 76th-minute winner.  

Sitela awarded the spot-kick after Ashley du Preez went down under the challenge of Rafiq De Goede. TV replays suggested the United defender may have clipped at the Chiefs forward's heels, but were also inconclusive.

The defeat was another setback for 15th-placed Maritzburg’s battle to survive relegation.

Davids felt the penalty was the wrong call and even insinuated in his post-match television interview with SuperSport that the referee might be a Chiefs “supporter”. 

“I just want to say [he's] maybe a supporter, maybe a supporter,” the coach said.

Maritzburg United coach refused to talk about the penalty that earned Kaizer Chiefs a narrow 3-2 win over his charges.

Later, in the coach's post-match press interview, Davids admitted he would probably face a sanction from the PSL.  

“I’m going to get fined there, guys. I’m going to lose [this battle]. I think the less I say about it, the better,” Davids said. 

“I think everybody has seen, we need VAR. It was the AmaZulu coach [Romain Folz] before and if you look at those replays, you have to go a little bit deeper into these things as a journalist. Sometimes coaches are not just saying things.  

“For the fight, for the plan, the performance and then you lose a game [based on a refereeing decision], it is not fair. It’s not fair for the players, for the hard work that they put in — but I have to lift their heads to say, 'Take this performance and fight against all odds'.”  

Despite the defeat, Davids was impressed with the performance and fight shown by his men, who fought back from 2-0 down after 10 minutes to 2-2 by the break.  

“It was a very good start by us. We were on the front foot and of course against the run play we conceded the first goal. And again, in quick succession we conceded the second goal.  

“We continued with that good start, besides [conceding] the two goals, to try to get back into the game and we did.

“I can really compliment the boys because when you are 2-0 down you can either lose the game 4-0 or you can fight. And that’s exactly what we did, stuck to the plan and continued in how we wanted to approach the game.  

“One team was in control with the ball and the other was a little bit more in control without the ball. There was nothing really in it in the second half besides the goal.

“So if you take the balance of play, I’m really happy and proud of the players with this fight and performance. But we know it’s about points and we have to take this performance and eliminate the mistakes we have been making and these performances will translate into results.”  

Chiefs' early goals from Keagan Dolly (fifth minute) and Christian Saile (10th) were cancelled by De Goede (20th) and Amadou Soukouna (41st), before Maart's second-half penalty settled the result.

Maritzburg will use the Fifa break to try to correct their problem areas before travelling to meet TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on April 2. 

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