Johannesburg- South Africa’s best referee Victor Gomes says that he was just managing Liverpool and Egypt superstar Mohamed “Mo” Salah when he offered him the whistle and the cards to officiate the match just before the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final on Sunday night.
Gomes made history when he became the first referee from South Africa to officiate in the finals of the Afcon tournament. Gomes did a sterling job when Senegal defeated Egypt 4-2 via penalty kicks in the much-talked-about final in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon on Sunday.
He handled the match with the assistance of another South African, the Alexandra-born linesman Zakhele Siwela and upon his return from the Afcon, Gomes and Siwela were presented to the media on Thursday to tell the story of their journey.
“I respect all the players that I officiate their matches. I don’t like to talk about decisions that I make on the field. Football has evolved tremendously in the last ten years and the players have also evolved if you look at the salaries they earn, they are very high,” said Gomes.
“So, refereeing has to evolve and we cannot stick to the old ways of refereeing. All I can say is that on Sunday I chose to manage a top class player in the best manner possible and I think football was the winner at the end of the day.
“I am very ecstatic. It’s a long journey to Afcon finals that took eight years. I want to thank Safa, I was representing my family, my Local Football Association. I could not have done it without my brothers Zakhele and Souru Phatsoane. It was like taking my brothers to war and life becomes easy when you work in sync. We worked very hard and our work was there for everyone to see,” Gomes told the media.
Gomes said that referees need to have a professional set-up to function at their maximum. Safa’s referee’s committee chairperson Anastasia Tsichlas agreed and said that she will organise talks with the hierarchy of Safa and the president Danny Jordaan.
“The structure of refereeing needs to be looked at. Referees in the continent do get a stipend, especially the top 24 referees. It would be better if it was professional so that we do not need to do other jobs during the day – then we can improve our game and work harder on refereeing,” Gomes added.
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