Pitso Mosimane Criticises Officiating in Champions League, Blames Referee for Loss Against Mamelodi Sundowns

• Pitso Mosimane has called for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to be used in Champions League games in future
• Mosimane blamed the officiating for Al Ahly's loss against Mamelodi Sundowns in Egypt on Sunday
• Al Ahly will need to pick up as many points as possible in their remaining games to qualify for the next round

Pitso Mosimane is not a happy manager.

The Al Ahly has coach has criticised the refereeing during his side’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League game against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Al Ahly lost the encounter 1-0 at home in Egypt but Mosimane has laid the blame with the officials, calling for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to be implemented during CAF Champions League games. As reported by KickOff, Mosimane believed that VAR would have helped referees pick up a few controversial moments.

One of those was when Sundowns’ keeper, Kennedy Mweene, appeared to handle the ball outside of the box.

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"I will always ask CAF to use VAR throughout the whole competition. The opponent's goalkeeper used his hand to save the ball from outside of the box. Also, I believe Tau was onside when he scored," Pitso was quoted as saying.

While Mosimane was focusing on the officiating, Al Ahly's sporting director, Sayed Abdelhafiz, was focusing on the games ahead.

Abdelhafiz said that the games ahead would not be easy but that the Egyptian giants needed to focus on winning those games and racking up points to qualify for the next round.

"The coming period is difficult, but we are the defending champions. We need to be fully focused and do our best to qualify,” Abdelhafiz was quoted as saying by Soccer Laduma.

The two teams will meet again on 11 March when Mamelodi Sundowns host Al Ahly in South Africa.

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Thapelo Morena’s late goal secured victory for the Brazilians in a match where they rode their luck but also demonstrated a canny tactical approach and impressive resilience, Sports Brief reported.

As reported on Supersport.com, the result sees the South Africans reclaim the top spot on the log with seven points, Al Merrikh are second on four points, while Ahly and Al Hilal have a point apiece. Merrikh and Ahly have played one game less.

The first half saw both teams struggling to find a rhythm, with Sundowns generally happy to sit back and crowd out Ahly in defence. The hosts were unable to build up a head of steam until the final 10 minutes or so, spurred on by a near miss from Aliou Dieng who sent an effort just wide from the edge of the penalty area.