Santos coach Boebie Solomons slammed referee Harold Lekitane whose howler on Friday night at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium handed Kaizer Chiefs a 1-0 victory.

Reneilwe Letsholonyane fired Amakhosi in front on the 61-minute mark before Santos were immediately reduced to ten men following Thabiso Ntloana's infringement on Nkosinathi Nhleko.

However, the People's Team battled on despite their numerical disadvantage and with less than ten minutes remaining, they should have been awarded an equaliser.

Santos striker Eleazar Rogers headed the ball well over the line before Thabang Rooi cleared the effort with a suspicion of handball. Instead of rightly awarding a goal, ref Lekitane pointed to the spot before consulting with his assistant. After a five-minute delay, the officials scrapped the penalty decision and called for a drop ball.

Solomons tried to remain calm during the post-match interviews, but the coach was clearly disappointed with what was once again a poor showing by the man in the middle.

"I think it was a nice game, a very tactical game. I was just disappointed with the referee, you know some decisions didn't look too good. They gave a penalty and then reversed the decision for a drop goal - I don't know, I don't know!," he said.

"We'll have to review this on the video and see what it actually was, but if it was a handball, I think this is an absolute disgrace for us. I really don't believe it.

"I mean he (the referee) took five minutes before making the decision. He pointed to the penalty spot and if it was a handball, it was a penalty and a sending off obviously. I couldn't see it because it was a bit congested in the box, but by him pointing to the penalty spot, that means he saw something.He wouldn't point to the spot for nothing, he saw something and only he will know why he changed his decision."

Solomons felt his men deserved more from the encounter, especially since they battled hard when they went a man down.

"It was very unfortunate, we were down to ten men, we got back and started fighting hard in the game. We got a few goalscoring chances. It was very disappointing to lose this way... but if they want to play football this way, then they must do it their way.

"We accept if somebody does something wrong and gets a red card, but we don't accept a decision like that where he blew for the penalty and reversed the decision. And then going to the assistant referee for an opinion - then what did he see in the first place?"

The controversy comes after Ace Ncobo quit his post as the PSL's general manager following two failed lie detector tests. Before departing, the former referee pointed out that "football in this league is dirty to the core" and after witnessing such poor officiating, we'd have to agree.