A penalty was awarded that never got taken and a red card was shown to a player who never left the field as BIDVest Wits reached the South African FA Cup last 16 on Friday.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Mbulelo Mabizela was at the centre of both incidents at Dobsonville Stadium as Wits edged Moroka Swallows 1-0 in their first round clash.

The centre-back handled a Lefa Tsutsulupa shot inside the box on the hour with the game goalless and the referee pointed to the spot only to change his mind because of a prior offside flag.

Mabizela fouled Malian striker Cheick Cisse nine minutes from time with Wits leading 1-0 and was shown yellow and red cards only for the match official to change his mind again after realising it was a first booking for the defender.

A cup tie that never scaled great heights was settled on 62 minutes when Sifiso Vilakazi fired the ball into the net from an acute angle after Swallows Nigeria-born goalkeeper Greg Etafia could not hold a close-range shot.

“It was a typical cup tie, a bit scrappy, and I always believed one goal would settle the outcome,” admitted Wits coach and former South Africa goalkeeper Roger de Sa.