Former PSL Referee Victor Hlungwani Exposes Two Major Soweto Derby Errors As Pirates And Chiefs Controversy Deepens

Johannesburg – Former Premier Soccer League and FIFA referee Victor Hlungwani cast doubt on two crucial goal-calls in the Soweto Derby, adding another twist to the officiating debate.

On Saturday, October 31, 2026, the Buccaneers beat their fierce rivals 2-1 at FNB Stadium. However, the match officials have been under fire ever since the tightly fought game.

Now that Hlungwani has looked at two distinct cases involving Oswin Appollis and Yanela Mbuthuma, he claims that the authorities erred in their conclusions in both cases.

He has rekindled the controversy among football fans, especially the Amakhosi faithful who were dissatisfied with the circumstances surrounding Pirates' first goal, with his evaluation.

The first contentious event occurred in the 24th minute, when Yanela Mbuthuma, a striker for the Pirates, scored the game's opening goal off a ball from Thapelo Mokobodi.

Thabo Moloisane, a defender for the Kaizer Chiefs, received a deflection and the ball went in the goal.

Mbuthuma was allegedly offside when the pass was played, according to Hlungwani.

The veteran referee reviewed the video and said that Chiefs defender Inacio Miguel was standing behind the striker. "Mbuthuma here is offside," he said. This objective was never meant to remain. Given the circumstances, this is wrong. There should never have been permission for it [the purpose]. Listen listen as Hlungwani explains on SoccerZone why this is wrong.

In his opinion, the assistant referee should have thrown the flag before giving the goal to the Pirates.

Hlungwani thinks Oswin Appollis scored a valid goal for Orlando Pirates later in the match, which is interesting.

Just as the winger was about to score into an open goal after dribbling past Chiefs goalie Brandon Petersen, the assistant referee blew the whistle for offside.

"Appollis scored a goal that was ruled offside, and we have Kwinika playing Appollis onside," Hlungwani said, indicating his disagreement with the ruling. The FIFA rules of the game were followed by this goal. He argued that the flag was inappropriate in this particular scenario.

Hlungwani thinks the Pirates gained from one bad mistake but lost from another, making the two occurrences intriguing in and of itself.

Orlando Pirates maintained their lead and won all three points despite the incident.

Tshepang Moremi scored the game-winning goal in the 55th minute, after Pule Mmodi had levelled for Chiefs after Mbuthuma's opening.

While Chiefs were let down by yet another disappointing derby performance, Pirates solidified their lead atop the Betway Premiership rankings with the win.

Because of Hlungwani's remarks, referee Luxolo Badi and his helpers are once again the center of attention.

His interpretation, however, is that of a retired referee and not an official PSL decision.

Source:

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