Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler was in a foul mood after a potential six-pointer evaporated into the Atlantic Seaboard night air and became a one-pointer at the end of their game against SuperSport United on Wednesday night.
Apart from surrendering a likely victory, Tinkler was livid with the way referee Skhumbuzo Gasa handled the match, and condemned the general standard of officiating.
However, no one could fault Gasa for awarding the free-kick, and Tinkler had a clear view of the flashpoint.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori scored the equaliser through a free-kick by Lyle Lakay, which came about after a reckless foul by City rookie Ramazani Tshimanga. Striker Khanyisa Mayo had opened the scoring for the home team early in the second half.
“That goal puts me in a foul mood because it’s the last kick of the game. Let’s call it a six-pointer, so we’ve thrown away five points,” said Tinkler.
“I feel for Rama (Tshimanga) because he knows he made a mistake going out there and giving away the foul. There was no need to do that – they were going out wide anyway.
“But that’s one person, and we don’t defend the foul. Then the free-kick comes in and we don’t deal with that.
“If we won, we could have created a small little gap between ourselves and them (SuperSport) and potentially Stellenbosch.”
Tinkler was scathing of the way referees are handling matches.
“I have to say something about the referee because I think it’s killing our game,” the former Bafana Bafana midfielder said.
“They (refs) give fouls when there’s no fouls, no advantage when there should be.
“Week in, week out it’s the same thing. It’s becoming tiring. We need to make that change. People will start getting fed up.”
City’s next league assignment sees them host local rivals Stellenbosch at the Cape Town Stadium next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Cape Town Spurs yesterday announced a new strategic partnership with Core Sports Capital (CSC), the owners of French Ligue 1 side Clermont, in the hope it will smooth the pathway for players into one of Europe’s top five leagues.
CSC also owns Austrian top-flight side Austria Lustenau and Swiss third-tier side Biel-Bienne.
“Cape Town Spurs and CSC’s mission is to improve talent identification and development and to prepare players for the reality of European Football,” Spurs said in a statement.
“Sharing training methods, facilitating Spurs and the three clubs in Europe for staff visits and exchanging of players is high on the agenda.
“The spread of clubs in different countries and divisions allows players to fit into a club or league that will best suit them, depending on the level required for their personal development on and off the field.”
Spurs CEO Alexi Efstathiou said they are looking forward to sending the first batch of players overseas.
“The added pathways that this will bring to our academy players is invaluable as they can now set their sights on achieving their European dreams with a club that is within their midst,” he said.
“No longer should they be thinking of only the PSL. If they work hard enough, live the correct lifestyle and get themselves up to the required physical levels that European football demands, there is no reason that they cannot make it abroad.
“We have talented players in the country, we just need to prepare them better for the demands of international football.”