Pitso Laments CAF Champions League Officiating

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane congratulated Wydad Casablanca on knocking his team out of the African Champions League but said the South Africans had been the more adventurous over the two legs and bemoaned the officiating in the first leg.

Sundowns, now back home after a long trip back from North Africa, lost on post-match penalties to the Moroccan club at the end of the second leg of their quarter-final tie and join the long list of Champions League winners unable to defend their title the next year.

“In the second half, we took the game to Wydad. We saw that they could not take the stress. The stress levels were too high on them and we played in their half and piled on the pressure. You could see they could not even get the ball out of their own half, they were defending wildly. It was too much for them,” said Mosimane.

“I think we played very well. We came here not to sit back but to attack. But, unfortunately, you know football, with penalties anyone can win. We showed we wanted to play; we were not afraid. I think we lost the game in Pretoria, not in Morocco. In Pretoria, we scored three goals but the linesman flagged them offside. They were not offside. I regret the game in Pretoria, it’s very sad for football when an official makes a mistake like that.

“But I must also give Wydad credit for the way they played in the first 45 minutes. They really showed they wanted to win,” Mosimane concluded.