Royal AM Ready for Kaizer Chiefs and Referees in Nedbank Cup Quarterfinal

• Kaizer Chiefs have been the beneficiaries of controversial refereeing decisions in their favour this season
• Whether these decisions were correct or not, they have a psychological impact on Amakhosi's opponents
• Royal AM does not want this to affect their psyche when they meet Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup last eight

Kaizer Chiefs' nemesis, Royal AM is ready for everything when the two meet in the Nedbank Cup quarter-final on Sunday afternoon.

The Amakhosi have been awarded 10 penalties and played against 10 men on nine occasions, far more than any other team.

This has led some quarters to cry favouritism, something that Royal AM coach, John Maduka is not interested in.

Speaking to the media during an open training event in Pietermaritzburg, Maduka said, according to SowetanLIVE:

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“At the end of the day, you can’t blame Chiefs for playing with an advantage [of having an extra man] because the decisions are not made by them, they just go there and play the game. What’s for us is to focus because that happens in football whereby there can be red cards and penalties."

Maduka believes Royal AM must deal with the situation professionally and players should be mentally prepared.

“If you want to go to the next round, you should be prepared for anything. Anything can happen at any time against any team, so we must be able to deal with that.”

Incidentally, Chiefs beat Royal for the first time ever in January, having failed to do so since the KwaZulu-Natal team reached the DStv Premier League in 2021.

Hlungwani discusses Chiefs' penalties

Sports Brief previously reported on the furore from neutrals and opponents who alleged favouritism in the Amakhosi's favour.

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Referees are not showing any bias towards the Chiefs or against their opponents, according to ex-SAFA referee, Victor Hlungwani.

The 'resident' referee on SABC Sport's popular Monday night review programme, Soccer Zone, broke down each call to prove his pointbreak down every penalty that was given to the Amakhosi.