THOHOYANDOU – For the first time in history, Black Leopards have managed to grab a point against Moroka Swallows. Leopards held Swallows to a 2-2 draw in their Castle Premiership League match that was played at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday.

The match is surrounded by a lot of controversy. Leopards are convinced that they would have won the match, had it not been for the fact that the Unitenhage referee, Mr Gqubule Buyile, was against them throughout the game.

During an interview after the match, the Leopards coach, Mr Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, said that he was shocked and disappointed by the manner in which the referee was handling the game. He indicated that his team trains twice a day in order to keep the boys ready for whatever opposition they may come across.

He stressed the fact that losing a match unfairly demoralizes both the players and the technical staff, saying it takes an effort to keep the team fit and strong. “This man deserves to be arrested because what he has done to us is a criminal offense,” he said.

Most of the decisions that Gqubule took in that match were questionable. The managing director of the team, Mr David Thidiela, was quick to mention that he was going to write the league a letter to request them to look at the video of the game.

He stated that the referee had denied them a “well-deserved victory”. At one stage, the game came to a halt for nine minutes as the Leopards supporters were throwing missiles onto the pitch as a way of protesting against his controversial decisions.

Thidiela further indicated that the penalty that was awarded to Swallows through which they scored their first goal was unjustified. “When and where are we going to win when there are heartless people like Gqubule who have the guts to come and rob us in front of our home supporters, “ he asked.