CAF Confederation Cup: Why Kaizer Chiefs Shouldn’t Have Been Awarded a Penalty Against Al Masry

• Kaizer Chiefs took all three points in their second leg clash with Al Masry in the CAF Confederations Cup on Sunday afternoon
• The Premier Soccer League giants had a controversial decision given in their favour after the centre referee awarded them a penalty
• A sports journalist in an interview with Briefly News explained why the referee was wrong to have awarded the Soweto-based club a penalty

Kaizer Chiefs are now top in their group standings in the CAF Confederation Cup after defeating Al Masry 2-1 at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, February 8, 2026.

Amakhosi lost the first leg of their group stage clash with Al Masry, but their back-to-back wins over Zesco United have put them on track to secure a place in the next round of the competition.

One of the major talking points of the game was the penalty awarded to the Glamour Boys by Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea in the first half after Al Masry captain Ahmed Mansour was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

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With Video Assistant Referee (VAR) not available for the group stage fixture, the centre referee's decision is final. Flavio Silva converted from the spot to give Amakhosi the lead, but the discussion about the ref's decision continued on social media

Why Chiefs shouldn't have been awarded penalty

Sports journalist Moses Mbogo, while being interviewed by Briefly News, explained why the Ghanaian referee shouldn't have awarded Kaizer Chiefs a penalty.

"Kaizer Chiefs deserved the win over Al Masry as they were the better team, but the penalty call was questionable," he said.

"If you watch the replay closely, the Al Masry captain's hand was in a natural position, and he was not stretching it out to prevent the ball.

"The hand was close to his body, and I don't know where the referee wants the player to put his hands."

Kaizer Chiefs' chances of qualifying

Mbogo, speaking further after the end of the match, shared his thoughts on the Betway Premiership side's chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals as they take on Zamalek in their last group fixture

"Kaizer Chiefs' chances of qualifying for the next round are very high, but they need not to be complacent as there's still much work to be done despite being in a good position," he added.

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"It's in their hands now; they just need to avoid defeat against Zamalek to qualify for the next round, but it's going to be a tough task to achieve."

Motaung explains Chiefs' early exit from Nedbank

Briefly News also reported that Bobby Motaung shared his thoughts on the reason behind Kaizer Chiefs' early exit from the 2025-26 Nedbank Cup after losing to Stellenbosch FC in the Round of 32.

The Kaizer Chiefs Football Manager also highlighted the stress of competing on multiple fronts, noting that juggling the league, the Confederation Cup and the Nedbank Cup placed heavy demands on the players.

Source: Briefly News