The South African soccer season kicks off with the very first trophy of the season to player for, the MTN 8 where eight teams that finished in the top half in their previous season will play against each other as they compete for the lucrative R8 000 000, it is termed Wafa-Wafa, the winner takes all and Orlando Pirates are proving to be the specialists when it comes to this tournament, they have been winning it for the past two years and 2024 has marked a historical year as they clinched their third trophy, they will now keep the trophy since they were crowned champions for three times in a row, however, their win against Stellenbosch was clouded with controversy after the second goal was scored.
It was a sold out affair at the Moses Mabhida stadium in the KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, fans were all over the streets of Durban as early as Friday waiting for Saturday so that they can go and watch the beautiful game, some traveled from as far as Limpopo and as expected, the game was one of the best with the side from the Winelands opening the coring in the early stages of the game, but the never say die spirit of the Buccaneer saw them managing to find the equalizer just before half-time and it was game on.
Just when it seemed as if the game was heading for extra-time, the referee of the day Abongile Tom stole the spotlight after he awarded Pirates a free-kick and it was taken a few meters away from where the foul happened, from that moment, Jose Reverio's side went on to score their second goal through Thsegofatso Mabasa on the 90th minute, that sparked a lot of talks as some fans expressed a great deal of disappointment from the referee.
Many people have been complaining about the standard of refereeing in the Premier Soccer League, there is controversy that keeps soccer lovers on their feet week in and week out, Tom literally stole the trophy and handed it to Pirates.