Despite the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) being complimented after a successful Africa Cup of Nations, the technology has since been slammed by Young Africans coach Miguel Gamondi.
This is after Yanga crashed out of the Caf Champions League in a controversial manner, when they were denied what seemed to be a clear goal by playmaker Stephane Aziz during their quarterfinal second-leg clash against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Friday night.
Yanga lost 3-2 on penalties after another goalless draw. Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was the hero of the night when he saved two spot kicks.
Speaking to the media after the match, Gamondi did not hold back and said that his side was robbed of an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals, stating that Yanga was denied a clear goal.
“We were robbed,” Gamondi lashed out.
“If you want to defend the credibility of African football, start with that VAR decision. I think people who were on the VAR stole the pride of the people of Tanzania.
“More than 30 million Wananchi people felt they were robbed. If there is somebody who says, ‘no coach you are wrong, it was no goal’, I’m here, tell me.
“Why didn’t the referee go to check himself [on the VAR]? He wanted to check only if it was a yellow card or a red card for Lomalisa Mutambala when he brought down Khuliso Mudau.
“If the people of Sundowns are happy with that, it’s okay. But football is not like that; we’re talking about Fifa Fair Play.
The former Sundowns coach claimed that he was robbed for the second time in his coaching career, adding that it was not the first time being denied of an opportunity to proceed further in the competition.
“In 2019, I was coaching Hassania – I played the quarterfinal against Zamalek, and we scored one goal. We had the picture that it was a goal as well,” he added.
“I think it’s the second time I’ve been robbed. And it’s very painful. Today [on Friday], honestly, in this stadium, it was painful for football.
“I’m not criticising Sundowns or South African people. I criticise the people who did the VAR in this game. The referee can make a mistake because he is a human being.
“But why does not the referee go and check himself? He says, ‘No I’m confident with the VAR’, and I see why you’re confident. But you’re not confident when there’s a decision to check a yellow card on my player.
“The Wananchi people, it’s their first time qualifying for the quarterfinal in the Champions League. We went toe to toe with the best team in Africa, and we were robbed like that,” he added.
