Frustrated Brandts blasts referee

2012 Cecafa Kagame Cup

Today
3^rd Place playoff
APR vs AS Vita Club -12.30pm (SS9)

Final
Yanga vs Azam – 3pm (SS9)

APR coach Ernie Brandts could not hide his frustration after APR’s semi-final defeat on Thursday. (Internet photo)

APR coach Ernie Brandts sparked controversy when he said ‘this is Africa’ reacting to what he called poor refereeing in Thursday’s Cecafa Kagame Cup 2012 semi-final defeat against reigning champions Yanga of Tanzania.

The Dutchman criticised the performance of Kenyan referee Anthony Ogwayo in his side’s 1-0 defeat at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium.

With scores still goalless and fatigue taking its toll on players during extra time, Yanga made the most of clumsy defending from APR center-back Mbuyu Twite and left-back Donatien Tuyizere to score through Hamis ‘Diego’ Kiiza.

A few minutes later, the defending champions were reduced to ten men but still managed to hold on.

“Many coaches do not like to talk about the referees, but I do not agree with that,” Brandts said after the game.

“Perhaps I am not going to be objective, but I felt a number of decisions did not go our way today. There was a lot of time-wasting from Yanga’s goalkeeper but all we had was three additional minutes in extra time.”

This afternoon, APR will contest DRC’s AS Vita Club for third place. The winner will pocket $10,000. This tie will be followed by the final between Yanga and surprising package Azam.

While Yanga are gunning for a fifth regional title, Azam only made their debut this year.

Posted by Julius Mbaraga on Jul 28 2012. Filed under Daily News, Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.