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Norman Mapeza

Allen Khumalo, Sports Reporter
FC PLATINUM coach Norman Mapeza has spoken out against bad refereeing decisions, saying they ultimately end up affecting coaches’ lives.

This comes after referee Nkosana Nduna denied FC Platinum what appeared to be a genuine penalty on the stroke of full time in the Independence Cup semi-final clash against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday.

Highlanders’ centre back Tendai Ndlovu handled the ball after being turned inside out by Nqobizitha Masuku inside the box, but the referee shockingly waved play on.

The platinum miners went on to lose the match 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate in regulation time.

Speaking after his side’s triumph over league champions Caps United in the third place play-off at White City Stadium on Independence Day, Mapeza said a simple bad decision could negatively affect a coach’s life.

“I don’t have much to say because when you play well and fail to get a penalty like that given, it really takes us back in terms of football development. In a tight game like this, one chance like that penalty can make a difference. Such incidents make it even difficult for me as a coach to motivate the players after giving their best. We were denied a clear penalty and if you can’t get penalties in the game of football where do you expect to get them? We should have been given that penalty and if we were to miss we were going to miss, but if it’s a penalty, the referee should award a penalty,” said Mapeza.

He said a bad call by the referee could easily leave a coach jobless, whereas the man in the middle faces no consequences.

“It’s very difficult for us as coaches to do our job and at the end of the day we end up losing our jobs because of such glaring mistakes. It’s not fair at the end of the day,” he said.

@khumzallen