No Tower. No Major. Let's hope Gordon Igesund hasn't made his first mistake as Bafana coach

Major mistake: Lehlohonolo Major is in fine form

WHEN Bafana Bafana entertain the reigning African champions Zambia on Wednesday night in honour of Nelson Mandela at Soccer City, two of the nation’s form players will be watching the game on the television.

Despite Gordon Igesund’s insistence that he would be “picking players who are doing well for their clubs” the two men who have kept Kaizer Chiefs at the top of the Professional Soccer League table do NOT feature in his squad for the Nelson Mandela Challenge this week.

Mulomowandau Mathoho and Lehlohonolo Majoro – perhaps better known as the Tower and the Major – have been the driving force behind the AmaKhosi’s hugely popular ascent to the top of the local tree. While Igesund spent last week visiting Everton’s Steven Pienaar and Norwich City’s Andrew Surman, Mathoho was a Tower of strength in Chiefs’ wins over Golden Arrows and SuperSport United.

Lest we forget, Bernard Parker scored all the Chiefs goals early on – including a remarkable four against AmaZulu – to force his way in to Gordon’s squad. But with Kingston Nkatha also weighing in up front, Majoro - despite his new, boring hairstyle - is currently the nation’s form goal-getter with five goals in four games. He now trails Parker by one, with six PSL strikes.

And at the back, it is Mathoho – along with Igesund’s favourite goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune – who has ensured the AmaKhosi have conceded a league-leading five goals in 11 games.

Chiefs boss Stuart Baxter, looking more comfortable by the week, said after Majoro had scored both goals in the 2-1 win over previously unbeaten SuperSport United, said: “Major dares me to leave him out of the starting line-up. He trains well and he looks so threatening. I have to pick him.”

And Mathoho, man of the match in the midweek 3-0 win over Golden Arrows, was overlooked yesterday when Igesund decided to call up team-mate Siboniso Gaxa to replace the injured Siya Sangweni in central defence.

Gaxa, like fellow squad members Anele Ngcongca (Racing Club Genk, Belgium), Ricardo Nunes (MSK Zilina), Punch Masenamela (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Thabo Nthethe (Bloemfontein Celtic) is more of a full-back than a central defender. Which leaves us with SuperSport United's Bevan Fransman to fill the a hole and stifle Zambia's big Pirate, Collins Mbesuma.

Thus far, Igesund has used Orlando Pirate Sangweni at centre-back next to captain Bongani Khumalo, currently strutting his stuff for PAOK in Greece. Given Sangweni’s knee injury, the failure to call up Tower is probably even more startling than the decision to overlook Majoro for his team-mate Parker, Tokelo Rantie, Katlego Mashego and Kermit Erasmus up front.

After his strirring efforts last week, Tower grinned: “Credit should go to each and every one in the team. I do not do it alone; we win as a team.

“We need to make sure that we follow our game plan. Winning can be a habit.”

It’s a habit Gordon MUST have by the time AFCON 2013 kicks off at the same Soccer City venue on January 19 against Cape Verde Islands. Still, Igesund does have another form player to turn to. Sifiso Myeni continues to impress in Orlando, scoring the only goal against Steve Komphela’s men on Saturday to put the Pirates second in the PSL.

Coach Roger de Sa, another boss who appears to be enjoying himself lately, said of the youngster he first groomed at Wits: “Sifiso? I’m delighted. With his form and his goal-scoring ability. I know him pretty well and he is playing with a lot of confidence.

“At the moment he is carrying us.”

Hopefully he will carry Gordon’s Bafana on Wednesday night too. But you can’t help thinking the Tower and the Major would have made his task that much easier. 

Gordon spent today's press conferences and media chats outlining his successes and failures on the whistle-stop tour of the UK last week.

He told us he talked to Norwich City's South African-born Andrew Surman and explained: "He didn't seem interested, so I left it at that."

And Igesund went to great lengths to insist he "only went for a cup of coffee" with Steven Pienaar, who announced his international retirement last month. Gordon repeatedly stressed: "The subject of Bafana didn't come up. I wasn't there to beg him to change his mind. He's a man. It was a tough decision. We have to respect that.

"I spoke to Steve about his family - there was some good news about his wife - and I discussed football with him and his coach, David Moyes. Stevie said how much he was enjoying his football. But he says because of the condition of his groin, he can only train twice a week and needs a day to recover afterwards.

Steven Pienaar has been a great ambassador for this country for ten years. He deserves recognition for that. That's why I saw him. Not to make him change his mind. We just had a cup of coffee, that's all. He talked about the differences between Spurs and Everton, stuff like that.

"Is the door closed for Pienaar? Will he ever play for South Africa again? Look, I will never close the door on any South African who wants to play for his country. That's how it is."

The good news came in the shape of Kagiso Dikgacoi at Crystal Palace and Dean Furman, the Oldham Athletic captain. Igesund explained: "I visited both of them. I met KD's new coach at Palace, Ian (Holloway) and he was full of praise for KD. He's made a place for himself there in a very competitive league. I watched him played in a defensive role against Ipswich.

"And I phoned Ian after Palace won over the weekend and KD scored. They are top of that league, he is doing well. Ian said he can playing attacking or defensive. They love him there.

"And with both Oldham and Palace, I got what I wanted. I asked them to release KD and Furman a week early. FIFA stipulates they only have to be released two weeks before the tournament. But I've got their clubs to agree to let me have them on January 1.

"That was why I made the trip. To get to know these managers. To build a relationship. Some games, against local sides, I won't call their players. It's give and take.

"Now I have to build that relationship, with the managers in Begium, Holland and Greece too. That is my job.

"I also spoke to David Somma at Leeds. He's been out of football for a long time with a knee ligament problem but he's played two games for the reserves and he's nearly there.

"It's the same for Thulani Serero at Ajax Amsterdam. He is training again too. But for all these players, Morgan Gould, Killer Mphela and Benni McCarthy, they are back in training but they have to play for their club teams before I can seriously consider them.

"It isn't too late for any of them. But it's getting late. We kick off AFCON on January 19. Time is limited."

A shortened version of this story will appear as my Neal and Pray column in tomorrow's The New Age. See www.thenewage.co.za.

Equatorial Guinea, gender, nationality and human rights: Why Banyana's final demise deserves closer scrutiny

Double trouble: Genoveva Anonma, who scored twice against Banyana

BANYANA BANYANA’S epic attempt to lift the CAF Women’s crown may have come to an abrupt halt when they lost to hosts Equatorial Guinea 4-0 yesterday – but look under the veneer of a one-sided final and you'll find there are a couple of very good reasons for their failure to lift the continental crown.

The “women” who lifted the female African Cup of Nations in Malabo might be worth closer scrutiny following repeated questions over their gender and nationality.

My problem with Equatorial Guinea does not start with their women’s team. During the African Cup of Nations – generally the natural domain of male footballers – in January, I wrote this http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/01/rampant-corruption-11-foreigners-and-1m.htmlexplaining how the oil-rich nation works.

Although the second-smallest African UN member’s GDP is $35,000 per person, two-thirds of the population lives on less than $1 a day with a tiny elite living the high life.

In a notoriously undemocratic country scandalously low on human rights and poverty indexes, the Equatorial Guinea FA have been known to move the goalposts before – passports are granted to overseas players, birth certificates are altered and huge bonuses are paid to their footballers while the large majority of the nation starves.

At one point during AFCON2012, the team overseen by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangu – the Equatoguinean president’s son - fielded NOT ONE player born in Africa’s “richest” nation as they turned to heroes born in Brazil, Liberia, Spain and Cameroon in a tournament hostly jointly with Gabon.

But when it comes to the women’s game – where NINE of the team were foreign-born - something really dodgy lurks beneath the surface. The tiny nation’s inexplicable rise up the women’s rankings may just have been achieved using MEN.

According to http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/25/154809.htmlin 2010, during the last women’s AFCON in South Africa, the Equatorians were forced to drop “sisters” Salimata and Bilguisa Simpore from the team.

Ghana captain Florence Okoe said after her team’s defeat against the former Spanish colony: “It is not as if we are throwing sour grapes, just because we have lost. Rather, this is the fact and it is up to the organizers to do something about this. It is not good for African women’s football.”

And her teammate Diana Ankomah insisted: “You only need to have physical contact with them to know this, and we can tell from what happened most times during the match.”

The side ranked 62 in the FIFA women’s rankings – currently 5^thin Africa behind powerhouse Nigeria – simply dropped the rugged “sisters” and carried on. No gender tests were carried out despite promises from CAF after official complaints were made.

FIFA’s response? With Equatorial Guinea pumping millions in to hosting a raft of international tournaments, Sepp Blatter’s people said: "No mandatory or routine gender testing verification examinations will take place at Fifa competitions.

"It lies with each participating member association to prior to the nomination of its national team ensure the correct gender of all players by actively investigating any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics and keeping complete documentation of the findings."

In other words: FIFA did NOTHING.

Equatorial Guinea's football federation, Feguifoot, claimed they were being subjected to a "campaign of defamation", adding: "Accusations about the supposed presence of men are totally unfounded. These allegations are being made by groups of people that watch with pessimism the progress made by Equatorial Guinean soccer."

Genoveva Anonma, who scored twice in yesterday’s final against Banyana and plays professionally for the German club USV Jena, told the BBC that she had already been gender tested after complaints from opponents, which she found "offensive".

South Africa’s team manager in 2010, Fran Hilton-Smith, was quoted at the time saying: "I think they are probably intersex and they think they are girls. That's the aspect that needs to be investigated.

"Fifa has to come up with some specific medical gender tests to establish whether these players are intersex. If they have 100% testosterone that definitely gives them an advantage. They shouldn't be banned but they should be helped."

Equatorial Guinea were also accused of fielding male players in 2008 when they last won the African women's championship. They are still the only country other than far larger near-neighbours Nigeria to win the title.

During this year’s AFCON they won all five games and scored 18 goals while conceding none.

The country’s president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew previous dictator Francisco Macías Nguema on 3 August, 1979 in a bloody coup d'état. Since then some 12 unsuccessful coup attempts have occurred.

Equatorial Guinea has one of the worst human rights records in the world, consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights and Reporters Without 

The press monitoring agency Borders ranks President Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom with the President banning "all political dissent" and appointing his son to the previously unknown role of "second vice president" and granting him diplomatic immunity from legal action being taken against him in France.

The Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 states "Equatorial Guinea is a source and destination for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking." The report rates Equatorial Guinea as a "Tier 3" country, the worst ranking.

President Obiang has been in power for 33 years – the longest-serving leader in Africa. Last year he announced plans for a new capital in the country, to be called Djibloho while the majority of his people lack access to electricity or running water.

And in the light of all that, who can blame Banyana for their final denouement or President Jacob Zuma for using state funds to improve Nkandla?

Orlando Pirates at Sundowns: Benni's not back, Jali's out, Brazilians could go nuts

Just good friends: Roger and Benni

LAST season Loftus Versfeld was sold out for the PSL crunch clash between champions Orlando Pirates and big-spending Mamelodi Sundowns. The missus and I had to sneak through the gates with a little help from sympathetic gatekeepers in Tshwane.

It was standing room only for the clash between Johan Neeskens and Julio Leal - but for all the hype, the game ended disappointingly, 0-0.

Tonight the Buccaneers and Msandawana go at it again – only this time Pirates are the double champions and Sundowns are struggling.

With Dutch coach Johan Neeskens under huge pressure and billionaire chairman Patrice Motsepe hit by fan boycotts and poor form, the Brazilians will go nuts if their expensively-assembled side fail to lift themselves up the PSL table from their current spot just above rock-bottom AmaZulu.

But new Sea Robbers boss Roger de Sa is starting to learn about the pressure of being in charge of the Sowetan giants.

Though his side are fourth in the PSL, Pirates went out of the Telkom Cup on Sunday despite leading 3-1 at Bloemfontein Celtic after 90 minutes. And with Kaizer Chiefs leaving Golden Arrows quivering last night to retain their grip on the top of the table seven points ahead of their arch-rivals, De Sa knows defeat will leave the Ghost grumbling. Loudly.

And Pirates go in to tonight’s match without Andile Jali, their talismanic midfielder. Jali was selected for the national squad by Gordon Igesund this week – only to have his name scratched out when the full extent of the knee problem picked up at Celtic on Sunday was revealed.

This morning Pirates confirmed Jali is out for “at least two weeks” and his midfield partner Oupa Manyisa, who had the crucial penalty saved in the shoot-out on Sunday, is also struggling with a tight hamstring.

The official Pirates website insists “the technical team still has the likes of Onyekachi Okonkwo, Thandani Ntshumayelo and Manti Moholo at their disposal” and the entire nation was looking forward to the return of Bafana’s record goalscorer Benni McCarthy, injured in Igesund’s first game against Brazil way back on September 6.

It now appears Benni is NOT back. With McCarthy’s apparent hamstring strain reaching unexpected lengths and last year’s fall-out with the Wits boss De Sa and his assistant Eric Tinkler in the Telkom KO final yet to be publicly tested, a return was expected by most media outlets previewing the game this morning.

But inside sources suggest McCarthy remains out in the cold for reasons as yet unclear ... it all adds up to a fascinating night in central Tshwane.

My old mate Lucky Lekgwathi, forced in to an emergency full-back position on Sunday, simply says what Roger knows: "We need all three points tonight – we’ll need to concentrate. For the whole game. “We are not under-estimating MamelodiSundowns just because of their current position in the table. They are a very good team.

“We have to forget the past and focus on this game and win. If we score, we need to know how to defend, how to win the game.”

Which is exactly what they didn’t do against Celtic. Sundowns striker Anthony Laffor responds: “We all know that Pirates suffered that awful defeat in Bloem. They will come at us but we want it as bad as they do, if not more.”

The Liberian international added on the Sundowns website: “There is always pressure that comes with playing for a big club like Sundowns, and people are always trying to destabilize the team by creating all sorts of untrue stories that there’s no unity in the club.

"In the dressing room, we are a united family, and the coach, being our father, always makes sure that it stays that way”

“Our supporters shouldn't believe everything that they read, they must know that as Sundowns players, we are working very hard behind the scenes in restoring pride to this big brand, and I strongly feel that we are on the right track”

De Sa has pulled a major surprise by leaving Benni out and four-goal Zambian Collins Mbesuma on the bench, going instead with Zimbabwean Takesure Chinyama and Thulasizwe “JuJu” Mbuyanewho, who has yet to score a goal this season.

Mbuyane told kickoff.com: "I don't know whether it is luck or what that I'm always scoring against Sundowns. I am always fired up when we play them and if given a chance I am ready to work hard and won't disappoint."

Personally, I predict another draw – but let’s hope for a few goals this time around. History is against us though. Sundowns drew 0-0 at Ajax Cape Town in their last PSL clash, Pirates drew 0-0 at home to lowly AmaZulu.

The PSL tells us Sundowns and Pirates have met in 55 league matches since 1985. The Brazilians have 23 wins compared to 16 for Bucs, while 16 matches have been drawn.

And big daddy Neeskens may just find his troubled reign at Chloorkop will come to an end if Sundowns finish pointless tonight.

Game of the season followed by warmed balls... and Gordon's latest Bafana

Gotcha: The picture that proves Celtic goalkeeper Amour
Tignyemb moved off his line for the Manyisa penalty

IT’S not often you witness a side 3-1 up in the 90^th minute of a quarter-final go crashing out of a cup competition. Yet somehow, that is exactly what habitual treble winners Orlando Pirates contrived to manage in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

Roger and out? For the Buccaneers’ hopes of defending the Telkom Knock Out it was certainly that. Comfortable progress was wrecked by TWO late Celtic goals which sees both Free State sides join the Tshwane rivals SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-finals after an epic weekend of knock-out action.

Predictably (I said so on twitter shortly before the draw) we have ended up with two derbies in the semi-finals, and I'm predicting a final at Irvin Khoza's Orlando Stadium now his beloved Pirates are out.That's what happpened in the MTN8 showdown and nobody complained. It's all about warming your balls at these draws, or so Diego Maradona told me once.  Gavin Hunt and Steve Komphela are tasked with derailing a lucrative Celtic v Sundowns final. 

Right on cue, SuperSport United midfielder Franklin Cale came up with this comforting quote after the draw: “I am happy, it is a lovely draw. I did not expect to play against Sundowns but I am happy with the draw."

But I digress. As the social networks buzzed with scathing critiques of Pirates coach Roger de Sa – particularly over his use of substitutes in perhaps the best game of the season so far – it’s worth noting blooming Celtic needed a little help to reach their semi-final against Free State Stars.

Firstly, consider the penalty that put Celtic on the scoresheet. After a scintillating free-kick from Daine Klate and a second goal from Oupa Manyisa, referee Victory Gomez surprised even the ardent home fans with his decision to penalise Siya Sangweni for a clumsy challenge on the edge of the area.

Lennox Bacela scored from the penalty spot, but within seconds in a five-goal second-half, Thabo Matlaba produced a scorcher to restore the two-goal cushion.

Then, with 90 minutes on the clock, Ruzaigh Gamildien’s head made it 3-2 amid a host of time-wasting Piratical injuries which included everything medical ailment known to man, apart from the traditional eye-patch.

And there was Botswana's Joel Mogorosi, after a ponderous Moeneeb Joseph punch, bicycle-kicking the equaliser in the fourth minute of extra-time. Pure footballing theatre which left the nation on the edge of their seats, at the Free State Stadium and at home.

Extra-time came and went without a clincher… and when it came to penalties if front of the impassioned Phunya Sele Sele fans, Celtic were perfect from Bacela to the nerveless Dominic Isaacs, who calmly clobbered the fifth and final nail in to Joseph’s sound-proofed coffin.

Celtic boss Clinton Larsen grinned: "Normally when you are trailing with minutes to go teams give up, but it was the opposite for my players. We showed a lot of character and commitment. We are starting to gel now.”

But Larsen failed to discuss the Bacela penalty during normal time – or the fact his beautifully-named Cameroon goalkeeper Patrick Amour Tignyemb, the man in the Petr Cech headgear, was a yard off his line for the decisive Manyisa penalty save in the shoot-out.

On top of that, De Sa – panned for replacing striker Collins Mbesuma with luckless Ndumiso Mabena and forced to put Lucky Lekgwathi on at full-back early on – had to contend with an injury to Andile Jali after he had made his three replacements. Jali limped through to the finish and even converted a spot kick, but in truth he was struggling through the vital stages. Perhaps that's why Gordon Igesund chose to leave him out of yet another Bafana squad today, though rumours of the reasons behind his glaring ommission continue to plague the social networks.

And then of course, we must consider history. For all their recent trophy-winning form the Pirates – who will have to lift the African Champions League, PSL and Nedbank Cup to complete a miraculous third successive treble – have not won at the Free State Stadium since 2008.

Now De Sa finds himself back in a must-win situation against reviving Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld in the PSL tomorrow night. But he does have an ace up his sleeve. The former Wits coach reveals: “Benni McCarthy will be in the squad. He scored in a friendly 2-2 draw against AmaTuks on Saturday and I can assure you that if he sits on my bench, he is fully fit.”

With one Piratical eye on the so-called spat with Bafana coach Igesund, De Sa added: “If Benni is ready to play for us, he is ready to play for anyone.”

Sadly, it all comes too early for the national squad named yesterday to face AFCON champions Zambia at Soccer City in the Mandela Challenge on November 14. We might have seen McCarthy face up against current Orlando Pirates top-scorer Collins Mbesuma.

Instead, it appears Igesund will opt for Bernard Parker and Benni's former strike partner Tokelo Rantie. Interestingly, both Wayne Sandilands and Moeneeb Josephs have been discarded as Itumeleng Khune's goalkeeping back-up with former Wits stopper Darren Keet, 23, asked to fly over from Belgium for the game.

Gordon's former Moroka Swallows striker Katlego Mashego earns a call up front, hardly a surprise considering his six goals for the Birds so far this season. There are also long-awaited recalls for Thanduyise Khuboni (Lamontville Golden Arrows), Thuso Phala (Platinum Stars) and Kermit Erasmus (Supersport United) in a squad Igesund describes as a "last chance" saloon.

Igesund claims he picked Orlando Pirates midfielder Andile Jali for the Zambia game but crossed his name off when it was revealed he would be out injured after the knee injury he sustained against Celtic on Sunday. He said: "Andile is a good player, I had him in the squad until they called this morning."

With the African Cup of Nations kicking off at Soccer City on January 19, Igesund and his No2 Serame Letsoaka will fly to England tonight to chat to foreign-based Bafana stars, and as I twittered last week, the trip WILL include a chat with Everton's Steven Pienaar.

Igesund said: "Look, we'll have a cup of coffee. I think I owe him at least that. We can't turn our backs on him. Steve has been a great ambassador for his country, he gave us 10 years of service.

“There was lots of criticism. Plenty of talk. People thought he shouldn’t be the captain. I want to ask him why he retired. It must have been a very tough decision based obviously on  being away for six weeks at a key part of the season in the UK.

“The main reason I'm flying over is to try to get my players released a week early, over Christmas. It is very important to have a relationship with these managers, we’ll try to look after each other.”

My expected starting line-up against Zambia: Khune; Ngcongca, Sangweni, Khumalo (capt), Masenamela; Myeni, Furman, Dikgachoi, Modise; Parker, Rantie.

BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD TO FACE ZAMBIA:

Goalkeepers
Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)
Darren Keet (KV Kortrijk, Belgium)

Defenders
Anele Ngcongca (Racing Club Genk, Belgium)
Siyabonga Sangweni (Orlando Pirates)
Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, Greece) (captain)
Bevan Fransman (SuperSport United)
Ricardo Nunes (MSK Zilina, Slovakia)
Punch Masenamela (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Thabo Nthethe (Bloemfontein Celtic)

Midfielders
Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic, England)
Thanduyise Khuboni (Golden Arrows)
Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs)
Lerato Chabangu (Moroka Swallows)
Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England)
Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates)
Thuso Phala (Platinum Stars)
Sifiso Myeni (Orlando Pirates)
Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs)
Delron Buckley (Maritzburg United)

Strikers
Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs)
Katlego Mashego (Moroka Swallows)
Tokelo Rantie (Malmo FF, Sweden)
Kermit Erasmus (SuperSport United)

Clattenburg's clangers: Still trying to verify veracity of this picture!

United we stand: I suspect this is a dodgy picture

A REFFING DISGRACE. There is no other way to describe a weekend of enthralling – but highly controversial – action in the English Premier Division.

In two days of screaming injustice, the so-called greatest football league in the world contrived to produce THREE questionable results thanks to the whistle-while-you-work brigade.

At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s scrambled winner over QPR was shown to be off-side when the Spaniard hit the bar with a header before ramming the ball over the line on the rebound.

At Everton, Liverpool were denied a clear last-minute Merseyside Derby winner when the unloved Luiz Suarez was robbed of a last-minute hat-trick and a 3-2 win.

And most infamously of all, there were two incidents at Stamford Bridge which suggest the top-of-the-table clash between Chelsea and Manchester United was radically altered by a man in black called Mark Clattenburg.

This morning Clattenburg, the man chosen to referee the Olympic final between Brazil and Mexico at Wembley a month ago, stands accused of abusing two Chelsea players, one of them racially.

Before that the 37-year-old from Newcastle had sent off two Chelsea players with the match evenly balanced at 2-2, the Blues staging a remarkable comeback after United had taken an early 2-0 lead.

The first sending off of Branislav Ivanovic was fair enough but the second – a second yellow for Fernando Torres “simulating” after being clearly fouled by Johnny Evans – was simply ridiculous. And though the referee can always blame his assistant, Javier Hernandez’s winner was certainly off-side too.

Remember, Clattenburg is the guy who was told he would never referee again in January 2009 after “breaching his contract” and sending threatening emails to business associates  over debts of £175,000 (R2million).

A few months later Clattenburg was at it again, sending off Craig Bellamy and telling the Manchester City bench at Bolton: “How do you work with him all week?”

In 2010, Clattenburg was the referee who controversially allowed Manchester United’s Portuguese star Nani to score when Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had placed the ball for a “ghost” free-kick.

Now Chelsea are claiming Clattenburg called Juan Mata, scorer of a wonderful free-kick on Sunday, “a Spanish twat” when he was cautioned in the 76^th minute.

Chief executive Ron Gourlay, with Mikel and manager Roberto Di Matteo, demanded an apology after the game but Clattenburg refused and Chelsea released a statement yesterday saying: “We have lodged a complaint with regards to inappropriate language used by the referee and directed at two of our players in two separate incidents.”

For all Clattenburg’s past we can make no real allegations of bribery or match-fixing. As Sir Alex Ferguson said afterwards: “The boy was touched and he made a meal of it. He could have carried on and scored. But the winner was off-side, we had a bit of luck there.”

With previously unbeaten Chelsea boss Roberto di Matteo complaining “all the decisions went United’s way”, the usual accusations against United began. Are they justified? Well, yes, if you consider how many penalties and red cards go the way of the ageless old Scotsman Ferguson.

It’s not corruption, it’s just the Fergie way. Officiate poorly in Sir Alex’s eyes and you’ll never referee a big game again – and you can expect a dressing-room visit not to mention a satanic choir of complaing Red Devils.

Referees like Howard Webb have long been accused of being on a United contract, but the truth is they are just scared to offend the 70-year-old who has been in charge for 26 highly-successful years.

What the weekend’s injustices demand is not an investigation in to United but a review system for football. Both codes of rugby, all forms of cricket and Grand Slam tennis use various replay systems, and as I 

suggested on eNews yesterday, football has to follow suit.

Give the referee a 30-second time-out to ask the television official if an incident is as it looked, let him make 

a considered decision with replay evidence. Most top-flight matches go in to six or seven minutes of added time anyway, surely the game has time for a quick break to avoid catastrophic refereeing errors?

If FIFA and the FA continue to ignore such demands, the questions around United will never be answered.

All the predictions before a wicked weekend: from Chiefs to Pirates, Gunners to Blues

On target for Chiefs last week: Majoro

It's a massive weekend for football here and abroad. In South Africa, Kaizer Chiefs must attempt to resume their all-conquering Q1 form at Maritzburg United tonight while lowly AmaZulu go to Orlando on Sunday hoping to plunder the Pirates in a battle of the jolly Rogers.

In Cape Town tomorrow, coachless Ajax are out to halt the Johan Neeskens revival at Mamelodi Sundowns which actually resulted in a Telkom KO goal against AmaTuks during the week, the Msandawana's first strike since Noah began boat-building.

In England, the two European crisis clubs are in action tomorrow. Arsenal must end their slump against rock-bottom QPR and Manchester City simply have to overcome Swansea. The Merseyside derby and Chelsea v Manchester United suggest a Super Sunday lies in wait.

And just to prove I do notice La Liga, I can't see Barcelona producing anything less than a rampant win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night at 10pm South African time but Real Madrid, beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League this weekend, may stutter again when they go to the holiday island of Mallorca on Sunday night at 9.30pm.

My predictions for the weekend’s fixtures below, with a line of explanation:

PSL

TONIGHT

Maritzburg United 2-2 Kaizer Chiefs

Maritzburg is no longer an easy trip, not even for the table-topping Amakhosi

TOMORROW

SuperSport United 0-1 Bidvest Wits

Gavin Hunt’s bus may not deny the big-spending, new-look Clever Boys

Platinum Stars 0-1 Free State Stars

A meeting of Stars eclipsed by Steve Komphela’s travellers from Bethlehem

Ajax Cape Town 1-3 Mamelodi Sundowns

Still without a coach, Ajax may struggle to stop Neeskens’ Msandawana revival

Golden Arrows 2-0 Chippa United

Former Chippa boss Manqoba Mngqithi is back to fire the Arrows

Moroka Swallows 2-1 Black Leopards

Birds should swoop in a week over-shadowed by Sunday Chidzambga’s life-ban

SUNDAY

Bloemfontein Celtic 0-0 University of Pretoria

Steve Barker’s early charge appears to be stuttering, Celtic blooming

Orlando Pirates 3-1 AmaZulu

Jolly Roger de Sa takes on Rogered Palmgren. Only one result.

PREMIER LEAGUE

TOMORROW

Aston Villa 0-1 Norwich (1:45pm South African time)

Coming off the back of their victory over the Gunners, Canaries are flying

Arsenal 3-1 QPR (4pm)

Arsene Wenger simply cannot leave the Emirates pointless tomorrow night. Can he?          

Reading 1-1 Fulham  (4pm)   

Defeat for relegation-threatened Reading unthinkable at home

Stoke 2-1 Sunderland (4pm)    

After the draw with Newcastle, Sunderland may not relish a trip to Potteries

Wigan 0-2 West Ham (4pm)    

Sam Allardyce’s promoted Hammers secure their place in the top half

Man City 3-0 Swansea (6.30pm)

Roberto Mancini’s under enough pressure, time for the millionaires to perform      

SUNDAY

Everton 1-3 Liverpool  (2.30pm) 

Liverpool show no Mersey in their bid to catch the arch-rivals

Newcastle 2-2 West Brom  (4pm)    

Toon in tune in Europe this week, but Baggies are a stubborn bunch

Southampton 0-2 Tottenham (4pm)    

After the 4-1 surrender against the Hammers, Saints in trouble against Spurs

Chelsea 3-2 Man Utd (5pm)

THE BIG ONE: got to be a Blue day, despite Champions League failure this week

OFFICIAL: The African Cup of Nations Group of Death is NOT South Africa's Group A! Here's how we know...

The only way is up: President Zuma draws Cape Verde last night

There is one simple way of showing – with a level of scientific accuracy but no footballing nous – why Bafana Bafana boss Gordon Igesund can be reasonably happy with last night’s yawn-a-minute AFCON 2013 draw.

It amounts to a simple mathematical formula for each of the groups drawn to compete in qualifying for the 29^th African Cup of Nations, which we now know will kick-off with South Africa playing the volcanic Cape Verde Islands at Soccer City on January 19 next year.

All you have to do to highlight the Group of Death is add up the current FIFA rankings of each team and the lower the total, the tougher the task. On that basis, we can come up with this:

GROUP A (Durban)

South Africa 76

Angola 83

Morocco 75

Cape Verde 51

TOTAL: 285

GROUP B (Port Elizabeth)

Ghana 31

Mali 27

Niger 137

DR Congo 103

TOTAL: 298

GROUP C (Mbombela)

Zambia 41

Nigeria 63

Burkina Faso 91

Ethiopia 118

TOTAL 313

GROUP D (Bafokeng)

Ivory Coast 16

Tunisia 45

Algeria 24

Togo 93

TOTAL 178

Clearly, on that basis, Group D is our Group of Death, rated 107 FIFA ranking points tougher than South Africa’s Group A, with all four sides capable of finishing in the top two spots and emerging from their pool.

But there are other reasons for Gordon to be happy with the draw. For instance Angola, Cape Verde and Morocco are three nations NEVER triumphant over Bafana in competitive action.

The nine volcanic islands of Cape Verde (there are actually ten, but one cannot sustain a permanent population), which lie 570km west of Africa, produced a footballing miracle by edging out Samuel Eto’o’s four-time winners Cameroon in their final qualifying round.

But with a population of just 500,000, the former Portuguese colony (uninhabited prior to discovery in the 15^thcentury) have lost both times they’ve come across South Africa on the football field, 2-0 in Bloemfontein and 2-1 in their capital, Praia. Sure, they've risen over 150 places in a little over two years but surely they can't travel all this way and stun Africa on January 19?

Angola saw off Zimbabwe to qualify – but only on away goals after a dynamic double from a bloke called Mateus Alberto Contreiras Goncalves in Luanda. The 29-year-old striker, known as Manucho, was due to be a great African star when he signed for Manchester United eight years ago, but he made only one competitive appearance at Old Trafford in three seasons.

As his career dwindles in Spain and Turkey, Manucho remains a threat. His 21 goals in 38 Palancas Negras appearances suggests trouble, but if Igesund can wrap him up in Siya Sangweni and Bongani Khumalo, the chances are Bafana will extend an unbeaten record of six games, three wins and three draws when the nations meet in Durban on January 23.

It’s Morocco, ranked just one better than South Africa, which should worry those headed for the Moses Mabhida on January 27. Though Bafana boasts two wins and a draw against a side slipping down the world rankings, Igesund will know the arrival of new coach Rachid Taoussi, in place of Belgium Eric Gerets, saw the Atlas Lions turn a 2-0 deficit in Maputo in to a 4-0 romp in Marrakesh in their final qualifying effort against Elias Pelembe’s Mozambique.

Igesund was all smiles after the draw at the Albert Luthuli International Conference Centre in Durban, which dragged on for nearly two hours after three too many speeches pushed Africa’s moment in the spotlight to a mere sideshow on a night of Champions League action in Europe which showcased so many African stars on Wednesday night.

Igesund, like all of us, held his breath when Nigeria emerged as the last ball drawn from the goldfish bowl. They ended up in Mbombela with champions Zambia and Gordon admitted: “It was touch and go! I though we were going to get the Nigerians! But look, all draws are tough and it was really a fairly good one for us. I think Morocco can be giants in Africa.”

Igesund’s counterpart Taoussi said: "It's a good group. It's hard, since South Africa is the host country and has home support."

Nigeria, who take on Burkina Faso first in Nelspruit, may be the shock troops of SA2013 with vast local ex-pat support. Coach Stephen Keshi, fresh from a 6-1 qualifying thumping of Liberia, played down his chances, insisting Burkina Faso, champions Zambia and Emmanuel Adebayor’s Togo are all “very good”.

But somehow, with the aging Ivory Coast in the Group of Death, a Nigeria v South Africa confrontation on February 10 at Soccer City seems as likely an African finale as any.