THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) has come in full support of the suspension of referees and assistants who fail to conduct their duties professionally by the Zimbabwe Referees Committee.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
PSL chief executive Kenny Ndebele said yesterday that they have been receiving numerous complaints from member clubs with regards to poor officiating by some of the referees.
The PSL boss said they had noted with concern the complaints from clubs over the unprofessional conduct of some of the match officials and said they were in full support of the Referees’ Committee’s decision to punish errant referees.
He said the action by the referees committee brings transparency and professionalism to the league.
“We have recently been receiving complaints from clubs pertaining to poor officiating by some referees and as PSL we are in support of the action by the referees committee to punish and publish such officials. It helps to bring transparency and professionalism to the league. We have been invited by the referees to make presentations when they are on their courses so we support the clean-up of bad apples by the Referee’s Committee,” Ndebele said.
The PSL boss said while they appreciated that as human beings they make mistakes, they were worried that in most cases the errors were so glaring.
“While we appreciate that referees are human and make mistakes, it becomes worrying if some errors are so glaring that they can be seen by a simple soccer fan who is not trained as a referee. It would be understandable if these mistakes are committed by newly qualified referees but you find very senior match officials are flouting football rules. We are however, confident that the Referees Committee will eventually instill confidence by constantly punishing errant match officials. We however, also urge stakeholders to accept the final result.”
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The PSL boss also cited one instance in which referee Thomas Massa wrote a report saying he did not see what happened during the match between Dynamos and Tsholotsho which culminated in Dynamos midfielder Stephen Alimenda being fined$2000 for assaulting and insulting Tsholotsho medic Sibusisiwe Mthunzi during their match which ended in 0-0 stalemate at Rufaro as she was on her way to attending to an injured player.
The Premier Soccer League Disciplinary Committee also accused Massa of ignoring the incident despite being alerted to it and seeking to protect the player after he was seen talking to Alimenda after the match.
Referees/assistant referees suspended to date:
l Chapungu v Flame Lily Assistant referee: Faith Mloyi
l FC Platinum v Highlanders Assistant Ref: Edgar Rumeck
l Dynamos v Tsholotsho REF: Thomas Massa, First Assistant: Allen Barewa, Second Assistant- Nyarai Chirwa, Fourth Official- Munyaradzi Majoni, Match Commissioner-Tazvitya Chipere
l Dynamos v Highlanders Assistant Referee: Bongani Gadzikwa
