Abdeslam Ouaddou speaks on disallowed penalty, slams Old Peter Mokaba pitch | OneFootball

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Ouaddou on officials' penalty shouts decision, unimpressed with Old Peter Mokaba

Photo: psl.co.za

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has weighed in on his team's disallowed penalty in their Betway Premiership win over Polokwane City on Wednesday.

The Buccaneers beat Rise and Shine 2-1, thanks to goals from Relebohile Mofokeng and Patrick Maswanganyi, who scored in the 90th minute - four minutes after Bongikosi Dlamini had leveled matters.

Pirates, however, had a penalty shout rebuffed by referee Luxolo Badi in the first-half as Tlou Nkwe put his body on the line for a goal-line clearance from Evidence Makgopa's header.

Though a section a the Bucs faithful feels hard done by the officials' decision, Ouaddou refrained from blaming the man in the middle, and was tight-lipped on his thoughts about the mooted VAR implementation in the PSL.

“It's very difficult in the image to see. When I see the image it seems like the ball is touching the chest and after the hand. But I want to put myself in the referees' shoes, it's not easy, the action is too fast to see and I don't want to blame anyone there - it's difficult to judge,” he said.

"This is not my job to answer for that [VAR implementation], for me I'm just coaching my team and trying to play some nice football and to be ambitious for our club and for our fans. If something has to be decided in that case, I put my trust and confidence in the institutions to do so.

Despite securing vital maximum points, the 47-year-old tactician voiced his displeasure with the playing surface at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, which he believes could have injured his players.

“The only thing I can say is a bit disappointing is not playing in a fantastic stadium [New Peter Mokaba] next to this one because the PSL is the best league in Africa and I think when we play such a professional game we need to put the players in the right conditions,” Ouaddou added.

"I think today the pitch didn't allow us to play properly, we could have had some injuries as well and I think it's not good for the football, it's not good for the fans as well because the fans want to see nice football. Today the pitch didn't allow us to play nice football.

Pirates are level on 44 points with defending champions and second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns, ahead of their clash against Richards Bay at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Wednesday, 11 March.