Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro’s plea to journalists

Following The Buccaneers’ 1-1 draw against Moroka Swallows in the DStv Premiership, where they had a goal disallowed and defender Nkosinathi Sibisi sent off for offensive language, Riveiro was fuming.

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In his post-match press conference he urged the media to ask questions of the deteriorating standard of refereeing in the country.

''The referees are not camping with us and they are not in training with us, our energy must be dedicated to playing football. Luckily we have the journalists to analyse, find conclusions and maybe put some light,'' said Riveiro.

It’s not the first time the Spanish mentor has made these remarks, but he was compelled to reiterate his comments with Pirates dropping points and feeling referee Michael Mosemeng got a few calls wrong.

''Our job is to entertain the people and to win games, luckily we have you to talk about other things around the games,'' added Riveiro.

Riveiro was reluctant to elaborate on what he meant when he argued winning the DStv Premiership was “a huge challenge”. The Pirates coach was also vague when pressed on whether he understood the reasons behind Sibisi being red carded.

''I know what happened but it belongs to a different space, I can not tell you the terms of the conversation between a match official and my player. 

''But again it is a situation of clear disadvantage, when you have a conversation with the referee because you don't decide the terms, that's exactly what happened,'' concluded Riveiro.

With Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium coming to Orlando Stadium this weekend, Riveiro wants his players to concentrate on winning games in the chase for CAF Champions League qualification this season.