What we have been told

Match official reveals outstanding payment

The Siya crew spoke to referees in the PSL, and while they admitted that the standard of officiating has not been up to scratch, they have revealed that they are owed outstanding monies and have suggested that this has influenced their focus.

“We do admit that there are mistakes and we acknowledge them, but we are being owed money by SAFA. How can you expect match officials to perform at their utmost best under these circumstances?” explained a SAFA match official on condition of anonymity.

The Siya source went on, “Match officials have not got their monthly stipends (incentives) from the PSL all season (three months) and there has been no explanation on why the money hasn’t been paid to the match officials.

“We hear that the PSL hasn’t yet received the list of match officials for the season from SAFA. Each and every season, the PSL requires a list of 55 names for match officials that should be submitted to them by SAFA.

“Of that number, 20 should be the match referees, and others could be the assistant referees. All the selected match officials that do their job well qualify for the stipends. The stipends, which are apart from their match fees, were paid to them monthly over a period of 10 months.

“We have gone for three months without getting the stipends and that is something that never happened last season. Some of the match officials are not happy. The PSL is not to blame for any of this, because they are ready to pay, but are not getting co-operation from SAFA.”

There is nothing to hide – Tenda Masikhwa, SAFA head of referees

The Siya crew got in touch with Masikhwa and, while the head of referees admitted that the officials have not received their stipends, he gave a reason as to why they had not and committed to a date that the payments will be made by.

“I am very happy that you called in order to verify with us. I would have been happier if the referees who think that they have been aggrieved could have contacted the office first to establish that infor- mation with us, instead of running to the media.

“But be that as it may, it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to tell you, because there is nothing to hide. What has happened is that there were some issues that we were still looking at when it comes to stipends. There were some senior referees that were getting informed of the whole process of what was happening. They were well aware of what was happening.

“We needed to submit 55 names (of the match officials) that need to get the stipends to the league. Those names have been submitted. If you were to call me on the 26th or on the 27th (of October), or maybe you may need to verify with those referees that you were in contact with on those dates, you would find out whether or not they would have been paid. In other words, they would be getting their stipends for three months, including this one (October), from the 25th.”

PSL keep their distance

The League’s Head of Media would not divulge any information when asked on the matter and if the list of 55 officials had been submit- ted to the PSL.

“For any refereeing questions, contact SAFA directly,” said PSL’s Head of Media, Luxolo September.

SAFA to heed Mosimane’s calls…

Following the recent 1-1 draw against Bidvest Wits, coach Mosimane was not satisfied with the officiating and indicated that he would want to discuss incidents with referees in question, behind closed doors.

The coach told the media at the time, “I don’t know guys… in this country it would be nice to talk to the referees behind closed doors. Us… without you guys (the media), it would be nice to say, ‘Okay show me there, what are you saying on that? Was it offside or not offside?”

Masikhwa explained that the idea has been suggested in the past and said that they would welcome the engagement between the coaches and the referees - assisting in the growth of the game.

The head of referees is open to the idea, saying, “It’s not something new. It has been suggested that before each and every season we need to have a workshop with coaches because some of the issues that we differ on are things that are brought by some lack of latest information.

“But I don’t think that there would be any harm. That is something that is being discussed. I don’t think there would be any harm in meeting the coaches. There is nothing to hide.

“In fact, we would be helping each other in doing that. Anything that is done for the growth of football, we have to take it. SAFA leadership is open to such types of discussions.”

“Mosimane is not being targeted”

Mosimane has stated that referees can gang up against you; however, Masikhwa has been clear in dismissing any such notion.

“Not at all. But refereeing in itself has a human error element. Sometimes some coaches benefit from the errors of referees and they do not complain. Sometimes they feel hard done by and then they complain. I wouldn’t say specifically that he is being targeted. If we were to have some more information on that, maybe it would be a very good point to investigate,” Masikhwa stated, in addressing the matter.