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Cape Town - Free State Stars boss Tom Saintfiet was left seething after his side were denied what he believes was a legitimate goal and lost a man to foul play in their 1-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
Read: Klate gives Bucs the points
A 72nd-minute effort from Daine Klate was enough to secure the spoils for Pirates, with the Soweto outfit having dominated the encounter.
However, speaking after the match Saintfiet pointed to two key moments which he believed turned the game against his team.
Bokang Thlone was forced off the field after sustaining a broken jaw as a result of a kick to the face by Khethowakhe Masuku when the two players were lying on the floor after a tackle.
None of the match officials spotted the incident, much to the annoyance of Saintfiet.
“Football, FIFA, CAF, and SAFA asked for fair play and I think both teams were quite in fair play, but we have to be with 25 people to play fair,” he said.
“It is a team sport from all the people on the field. A player after 42 minutes gets a kick in his face and breaks his jaw, but we don't see anything.
“There are four people looking at it and no one saw it. The guy is in the hospital with a broken jaw. And we don't see anything.”
The Belgian was further riled by the fact that Richard Henyekane's 89th-minute attempt was not ruled a goal, with Thandani Ntshumayelo clearing the ball when it had already crossed over the line.
“I got an SMS from my brother in London and he says that the ball was clearly behind the line - a goal for us and it should have been 1-1," he said.
“We are not playing in a township, we are playing in a stadium for television cameras where people are paid for these jobs.
“So everyone on the pitch has to do his job, the ball was behind the line and it is a clear goal. I received messages from all over the world that it was clear goal."
