Sundowns coach calls for PSL reflection following disputed calls

He spoke after his 10-men Downs side secured a 2-1 victory over Golden Arrows in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday night, a match that featured several questionable calls from match officials.

Cardoso stopped short of suggesting he would walk away from the league.

"It unfortunately takes me back to very bad emotions when we played away against Golden Arrows. At the end of that match I said whatever might happen, we will be champions and that happened.

"What we promise is that from our side no one will affect our will and commitment to fight for the title until the end."

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The Portuguese mentor added that his remarks were not entirely directed at match officials, rather at the frequency of the dubious calls.

Cardoso again advocated for VAR.

"I'm not speaking about the referees, I'm speaking about the situations and we have been feeling that they have been happening systematically. Obviously, referees also have emotions and they understand they make mistakes sometimes, but this is a movement in the game that must be addressed by all parties involved, from the coaches, to the players, to the referees. 

"I'm not judging the intentions, I'm judging the situations that happen, and in the end they all came against us."

Cardoso also wants to see topflight fixtures played at state of the art venues across South Africa and believes VAR will force the PSL to go this route.

The Sundowns coach admits he is witnessing a side of SA football that he does not want to be associated with.

"I really don't understand. Maybe I'm out of this world, maybe I don't know nothing about South African football like a coach said to me once, but I don't need to know. 

"I know what we feel as coaches, as players, and as the club when we are put in situations like that. We don't just defend the badge of Sundowns, we defend the badge of South Africa as a nation when we play champions league.

"When I was in Portugal, when Benfica and Sporting Lisbon were playing internationally, I wanted them to win, but here we still play this cat and mouse game. Last year I was very happy to see Pirates playing in the CAF Champions League semifinals, and I was not happy when they lost this season against Lupopo, I would like to see them and Kaizer Chiefs go forward because that's what makes the dimension of South African football bigger."