Manqoba Mngqithi adamant Chiefs goal offside, calls for VAR | OneFootball

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Mngqithi insists Chiefs goal illegitimate, advocates for VAR

Photo: Daniel Hlongwane/ Gallo Images

Golden Arrows head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has called for the introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after his side's narrow defeat to Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday.

The KwaZulu-Natal side suffered a 1-0 loss thanks to a first-half strike from Aden McCarthy, leaving them 10th on the Betway Premiership table with 16 points from 15 matches.

However, Mngqithi feels aggrieved, convinced that the Soweto giants walked away with all three points through an unlawful goal, though he stopped short of criticising the match officials.

“This isn’t what we wanted, and it’s even more frustrating to lose to an offside goal. But I don’t want to lay blame on the officials—honestly, I think it’s time the league starts looking at things differently,” he said.

“The reality is, the game has become so dynamic. It’s really tough for referees to keep up with every movement. Even for us, we sometimes only spot these things after reviewing the footage.

“So, we can’t expect referees to catch every detail in real time. With the first ball played, Aden wasn’t offside, but when the ball touched [Flavio] Silva, Aden was already offside—so that’s offside, because he scored after that phase.”

The former Mamelodi Sundowns boss doubled down on his call for VAR, urging the PSL and all stakeholders to raise the bar for what he calls Africa’s most attractive league.

“The truth is, VAR is absolutely crucial. We’re not playing for R200, we’re playing for R20 million, so we have to step up as well—as the biggest league on the continent, we must raise our standards,” Mngqithi added.