Itumeleng Khune respond to ‘cheat’ claims during penalty

Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune has reacted to moving off his line during the penalty shootout against Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 quarter-finals last Sunday.

The veteran 35-year-old ‘keeper made a return to Amakhosi’s starting line-up for the first time in over…

Khune saved two spot kicks helping his side to progress to the semi-finals.

However, there were claims that the former Bafana Bafana skipper broke the rules as he moved off the line well before the ball was kicked.

He has given his thoughts. on the matter.

“I think when you are on the field it’s different to when you are sitting on the comforts of your couch and watching it on tv, because you have the privilege of watching it over and over,” he told Thabiso Mosia on SAFM’s SportON.

“With us, we get told about the rules and every season the rules change.

Even the referee called us, myself and Lee [Langeveldt] and he told us, ‘it’s fine to move off your line, but one foot has to be on the line, one can be off the line’.

“We will always ask questions as goalkeepers ‘but what if the player comes and stops’ and then you already made up your mind or you already dropped the shoulder, disguising that you’ll going to dive on the opposite side.

“You end up being slightly off your line, it’s not a plan to cheat but a movement of the player when he approaches the ball that triggers my movement, because I cannot just stand while someone is doing funny things to me.

I also have to scare him, so that I also have my advantage of saving the ball.

Itumeleng Khune during MTN8 quarter-final – Facebook – Unofficial Amakhosi

“I saw a point on social media that I was slightly off my line but with the third penalty I did ask the referee that the guy stopped and he waited for me to jump one side and then he kicked the opposite side. 

“He was like ‘no, that’s not what he did’ but [I think] that [is what] he did because I felt it and I saw it.

“When I made those two saves I cannot be blamed for that because I knew that they were going to come with their tricks of trying to get me to dive to the opposite side.”