Rulani Mokwena has added his voice to the debate around some recent controversial decisions from match officials, including the awarding of a penalty during Mamelodi Sundowns' victory over Cape Town Spurs.
The Brazilians have been at the centre of controversy in recent days after Young Africans lodged a formal complaint with CAF over what they believed to be a legitimate goal, disallowed by the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) during their quarter-final defeat to Sundowns.
Yanga claimed the decision was incorrect and went as far as accusing Sundowns of match-fixing.
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Just days later, the Tshwane giants were in hot water once more when they were awarded a penalty against Cape Town Spurs, converted by Lucas Ribeiro Costa and proved to be the match decider as Mokwena's troops walked away 1-0 winners.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash against University of Pretoria, Mokwena though said there are plenty of 'unfair' decisions that have gone against his side as well.
"I just watch the games. I can tell you that my opinion is that the decisions (by match officials) were right," Mokwena said.
"But that’s football. These things even themselves out. At the end of the day, you win some and you lose some. I think that's the nature of sport and football, that you can’t always be on the receiving end of these situations (decisions).
Ace Ncobo provides interesting insight on THAT disallowed Yanga SC ‘goal’ against Mamelodi Sundowns ???? pic.twitter.com/FxBWcmYHmP
— SuperSport Football ?? (@SSFootball) April 9, 2024
"I think one of your colleagues (journalist) asked me at the start of the season, 'What will it take to win the Champions League?' I said you need a lot of luck.
"When I see the Yanga incident, I say we’ve got a lot of luck as opposed to last year’s semis where we lost. When we conceded that goal, I thought we were extremely unlucky.
"But things even themselves out, God loves us all and sometimes when you think He neglects you, He has a way of showing His hand and saying, 'I’m still God and I’ve got favour upon my people'.
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"It’s how I feel at the moment. I feel that God’s grace is upon us and long may it continue.
"Like I said, in the Champions League last season there was a push on Mothobi Mvala for the equaliser to make it 2-2 and this season I thought we had very fortunate moments."
Sundowns' match against AmaTuks will kick off at 19:00.
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