Upset AmaZulu coach addresses Mobara red card

Head coach Pablo Franco Martin has shared his thoughts over a controversial red card handed to AmaZulu defender Abbubaker Mobara as Orlando Pirates collected a hard-fought victory.

After suffering a 4-2 defeat in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final to the same Pirates side in an encounter marred by controversial officiating, Usuthu would have hoped for a change in fortunes when they travelled to Orlando Stadium to take on The Buccaneers in a DStv Premiership fixture on Saturday.

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The visitors looked dominant early on in the match but were reduced to 10 players just 20 minutes into the match when Mobara was adjudged to have fouled Patrick Maswanganyi, who was through on goal. The defender was shown a straight red card. Ultimately a Tshegofatso Mabasa later goal proved to be the winner.

The red card-decision has drawn mixed reviews, with some believing it must have been something the defender said to the referee that warranted the somewhat harsh call.

Speaking at the post-match press conference though, a visibly frustrated Franco Martin, who believes an incorrect call was made by match officials, recommended a public acknowledgement and the central defender’s suspension be lifted.

"No no, he didn’t say anything to the referee," Martin responded when asked by journalists if the red was due to Mobara saying something to the referee.

"I think if we are going to make football a bit more fair, if there is an evident situation (where a wrong call has been made), then they should recognise the error publicly.

"The funny thing about these things is that the ones who are punished are the ones who are not doing anything [wrong] and the ones who are making mistakes are the ones who are going to be making the same things next week.

"So, I think it’s a great question and I think if we want to be fair, we should have him available for the next games.

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Match officials have come under heavy fire recently over some dubious officiating decisions. Meanwhile, Pirates win takes them up to second on the DStv Premiership table.

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