Johannesburg - Tanzanian based football analyst Geoffrey Lea has sympathised with the frustration experienced by Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi, after the Sea Robbers went down 1-0 against Simba SC at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium last Sunday.
Ncikazi has said that his side faced "inhumane treatment" from their hosts in Tanzania.
Simba SC chief executive Barbara Gonzalez has since blasted the claims made by Ncikazi and Pirates, in turn criticising the South African team for their punctuality after allegedly turning up an hour late for their training session as scheduled by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Lea has said that he agreed with the sentiment expressed by Ncikazi that Simba use dirty tactics on rivals when playing home fixtures.
ALSO READ: Lucas Radebe is ‘confident’ Bafana Bafana will qualify for Afcon 2023
“In my opinion the penalty that was awarded to Simba should not have been given. These things happen in football but the referee did not consult the VAR. I totally sympathise with Mandla (Ncikazi). The VAR is there for a reason and it should have been consulted. As long as VAR is not used properly, the refereeing will continue to be controversial,” said Lea in an interview with FrontRunner.
Pirates also faced an extremely hostile atmosphere in Tanzania which also raised the ire of Ncikazi. Lea says that the complaints by opposition teams is nothing new, nor is Ncikazi the first coach to bring it up.
“Literally every opposition team that plays them at home complains. There were not a lot of complaints when they played against Kaizer Chiefs last week. The result from the first game which they lost 4-0 might have put them off. They might have thought that it’s such a high mountain to climb,” added Lea.
In their response statement to Ncikazi, Simba also blasted Pirates for rejecting hospitality offered to him. Lea has said that it is a norm for opposition teams to reject hospitality from host teams in continental competition out of fear that they might be trying to affect their well-being behind the scenes.
“It’s a norm. Most teams will turn down the hospitality offered to them because they are afraid of the obvious and tactics that are being applied.
“We’ve had cases of players having their food laced with substances that would make their stomachs run. We’ve had cases of star players being arrested or people turning up at the grounds and turning off the lights. I bet that Simba will also stay in their own hotel and reject food when they come to South Africa,” said Lea.