While the South African football fraternity is tearing its hair out regarding the deteriorating and worsening standards of refereeing in the country, the deafening silence from the PSL, the custodians of professional football in the country, must be questioned and scrutinised.
Club coaches Rulani Mokwena (Mamelodi Sundowns), Sead Ramovic (TS Galaxy), Pablo Franco (AmaZulu), Ernst Middendorp (Cape Town Spurs), and, to a certain extent, Orlando Pirates’ Jose Riveiro, have expressed their anger and frustrations with some of the dodgiest decisions made by the men entrusted with controlling and overseeing the matches.
It is their product that is getting tainted week in and out, and no word has been uttered by the league. One needs to explain that the legacy of apartheid and SA being isolated from international and global sports left the country and the football structures lagging behind.
When Safa was created after readmission into the world sporting arena, it found a -solid National Soccer League that had existed for years. The structure may not have been rolling in the big bucks, and players were still being paid from the boot of a car, but it had SA clubs with a rich history such as the Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Moroka Swallows, Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns, Cape Town Spurs, AmaZulu, Jomo Cosmos, Arcadia, Umtata Bucks and Bush Bucks, to mention a few.
On the field, there was a buzz, but off it, it was gloomy and a bit dangerous at times.
So, the PSL and Safa have had to operate under a parallel paradigm and not under one roof.
International standard practice is that the national association, Safa in this instance, would be in charge of all football activities, including professional football wing under its ambit, but it is not the case in Mzansi, hence the bickering over who must fork out the costs for the implementation of the (video assistant referee) VAR.
A retired referee and former convenor whispered to the Sunday World that VAR is the only solution to the heightening challenges faced by referees.
“Right now, VAR is the -only solution, and there does not seem to be another alternative. There is no time to find and train a new panel of referees because a lot goes into putting up a team of referees, like physical training, grasping the Fifa rule book, and getting them in tip-top shape mentally.
“The chairman of the referee’s committee must give us direction with regard to the availability of VAR,” he said.
Even though Safa is in charge of referees, it is not reading from the same page as the league bosses. Last year, the league was on the verge of exploring ways of putting VAR into effect but was tackled from behind by the mother association.
Safa made it clear in a statement that “in terms of the Fifa statutes, it is the MA’s (member association) right to oversee and implement all of the referee structures and programmes.”
This was a veiled reference to stopping the PSL in its tracks.
Safa president Danny Jordaan also met with the renowned retired referee Pierluigi Collina, where the two discussed the idea of asking the Italians to come to South Africa and help set up VAR structures.
But still, there is no VAR in sight, and it does not seem like it’s going to happen pretty soon. In the meantime, the league is turning into a joke, and fans, coaches and players are disgruntled.
The PSL product really looks good on TV, it is nicely packaged, and the teams are dishing out some delicious football, but the PSL has kept mum over poor -officiating. People want answers and the way forward.
