Mapeza fumes as ref blunder lets Byo Chiefs field 12 players for 3 minutes

FC Platinum head coach Norman Mapeza was left fuming after a premier league match that was full of drama played at Luveve Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

This comes after his team’s opponents Bulawayo Chiefs fielded 12 men on the pitch owing to the referee’s mistake who then noticed it later after three minutes of play.

The incident involved Obriel Chirinda who scored Chiefs’ winning goal from the spot kick being substituted in the 72nd minute to pave way for forward Billy Veremu.

But instead of him (Chirinda) leaving the pitch he remained in the field of play resulting in the Ninjas playing with an extra men for close to three minutes.

Speaking to members of the media after the match, Mapeza blamed the centre referee and his counterparts for letting such an ironic error take place.

“I will always be disappointed but sadly there was a time when Bulawayo Chiefs had 12 players on the pitch and I don’t know what was going on,” he said questioning the dramatic situation.

“I think you (members of the media) were also surprised. If the fourth official is there, the linesman is there and the referee is also there but the other team end up having 12 players then there is something wrong,” the furious Mapeza bemoaned after the incident.

The mistake led to a bizarre incident in a premier league encounter that was ostensibly encapsulated by a lot of tension along with some dramatic scenes.

Initially, prior to the shocking incident Mapeza had received a red card in the first half for remonstrating against the referee as Chiefs triumphed to a 2-0 win over the three time champions.

The former Warriors coach who led the team to the AFCON finals in Cameroon in January, reacted to the red card and highlighted that he didn’t deserve to be sent off to the terraces.

“I didn’t deserve the red card because I never said anything to the officials but I was talking to Petros. Such officiating is not good for football,” the disgruntled Mapeza told the media.

The match saw Platinum being handed their first defeat in the 2021/22 campaign.

However, despite the drama, goals in both halves by Mthokozi Msebe and the club’s new signing Chirinda helped Chiefs to collect maximum points.