Bidvest Wits midfielder Thabang Monare believes his teammates were right to take issue with referee Masixole Bambiso’s decision to award a penalty in their 2-0 defeat to Cape Town City.
Photo Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Bambiso awarded a penalty to City in the second half after Monare appeared to bring Citizens captain Thamsanqa Mkhize down inside the box.
This enraged the Wits’ players, winger Sameehg Doutie and goalkeeper Ricardo Goss in particular, who rushed towards Bambiso before shoving the official.
The duo will now face a PSL Disciplinary hearing and are expected to be banned for six months as City midfielder Mpho Makola received the same punishment for pushing referee Abongile Tom in his side’s Nedbank Cup defeat to Kaizer Chiefs on October 19.
And Monare has come out in defence of Doutie and Goss, saying it was a regrettable incident but one that happened in ‘the heat of the moment’ and for that reason the duo should be acquitted.
“It’s football my brother, it’s just the heat of the moment, that’s all,” the Secunda-born star told KickOff.
“You know football is about arguing, when you look at it that way. So it’s just a matter of arguing the penalty, nothing more.”
Monare was shown a replay of the penalty incident after the game, but it did not change his mind.
“I was involved. I think it’s not a penalty. Honestly I don’t think so. But anyways what’s done is done, you can’t change the past. Because that guy [Mkhize] came from behind me, like if you look at it he was behind me, and he pushed me from behind and I was falling, you understand?
“At the time when the contact was made with him I was falling already. He pushed me. But anyway it’s football you know. We asked the referee, ‘What kind of penalty is this?’ He didn’t reply.
“I didn’t touch the referee, I never did. Ja like when you watch the video you see other guys pushing him… it’s just the heat of the moment. I just feel like in football we learn you see, we learn and we continue, you understand what I’m saying. Both the players and the ref you see.
“It’s football, it’s football and I’m always gonna fight for my team. Football is like that. Like I won’t come here and act like I’m perfect, that was a mistake… I mean if you honestly feel like it’s not a foul or anything you know you oppose it. Football is like that worldwide.
“Unfortunately not like being violent and you know touching the ref and something like that you know which is a mistake that we made. But I mean every time when you feel like a foul is not a foul you oppose, you know what I mean? That’s the nature of football, it’s the heat of the moment in the game.
“So football is just another world where we are different people on the field. It’s not like you intimidate the referee, you are just opposing at that point in time because honestly I wouldn’t be thinking as straight as I’m thinking right now you see.
“That’s just the nature of football where things like that happen, and if we are wrong and the referee is wrong, we are apologising. Move forward you know.
