Diabolical call saves champions

Bruce Chikuni

ZIMBABWE’S poor referees were again under the spotlight, for all the wrong reasons, after a dubious call helped champions FC Platinum steal a point at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The heavyweight clash between the champions and leaders CAPS United ended in a 1-1 draw.

But, the talking point was the strange decision by the nearside assistant referee to ignore a blatant offside call on Walter Musona in the build-up to the equaliser.

Video replays show Musona was CLEARLY offside when he received the pass leading to him providing the assist for the visitors’ goal.

The ZTN videos, which are now making the rounds on social media, clearly show that Musona was in an offside position.

Musona received the ball metres away from his marker, Innocent Zambezi, and was given the freedom of the city to venture into the CAPS United area.

His pass found Perfect Chikwende who made no mistake from close range.

Even the ZTN commentators can be heard screaming that this goal should not have been allowed to stand.

“I think one of the saddest things about this is that this could be the deciding moment in the championship race,” said a CAPS United fan.

“We would have forgotten about this, come the end of season, but it’s moments like these when championship dreams are made or destroyed.

“If we had won, we would have been four points clear of the champions and that’s a good advantage to have.

“Unfortunately, the assistant referee decided otherwise.”