Bio-bubble catches top referees off-side
Safa confident match officials will be ready
SOME top match officials are in a dilemma as the Premier Soccer League (PSL) action edges closer to resumption.
The PSL will be finished in a bio-bubble environment in Gauteng to prevent the players from possible infection. The province was identified by the league as a suitable region to host the remaining games.
The League wanted to return to action this weekend but the South African Football Association (Safa) proposed the first week of August as the appropriate time for the resumption of the PSL matches.
Independent Media has been reliably informed that a number of match officials will have a challenge as some have day jobs and may not be able to be kept in a controlled environment.
“Experience will be key in these last PSL matches. There’s no room for mistake but Safa is under pressure because some of the top match officials are policemen, others are workers in private sector and some are teachers. The likes of Shaun Oliver, Abongile Tom, Phelelani Ndaba, Luvuyo Phuphuma, Cedric Muvhali and others are all teachers and policemen. If they will be in a bubble it means they have to take five weeks leave. That’s a lot,” a source stated.
Tom is the reigning Referee of the Year while Ndaba is the former Referee of the Year.
“The likes of Victor Hlungwani and Victor Gomes are okay because they are working from home. So, they can work while in a bubble but others are facing difficult decisions. If they decide not to go into a bubble that will be a blow to Safa. Remember, match officials are paid per game. Yes, there are over 90 games in a space of a month but these top match officials have to get permission from their employers to go into a bubble,” another source stated.
Safa deemed match officials unfit to start officiating by this weekend. They said they were advised by the Referees’ Technical Committee that it would take three weeks for match officials to be fit but Safa settled for two weeks.
Some referees who spoke with
Independent Media on condition of anonymity denied that they were unfit.
“Referees are waiting for Safa to tell them if the games will continue or not. If the games do continue, Safa will have to write letters to the employers of the match officials,” a source elaborated.
Acting chief executive of Safa, Tebogo Motlanthe, stated that they have enough match officials to officiate the remaining matches.
“We’ve spoken with the referees. We don’t have a problem when it comes to the numbers. There are referees that have confirmed their availability. It is another question which I find surprising because those who are working have also been doing games during the week and they’ve never complained,” Motlanthe detailed.
Match officials are reported to be earning R6 100 per match and their assistants are on R4 700 for every game they officiate.
“When you do a game in Durban and you are from Johannesburg, you leave the day before. So, there are arrangements with their employers. Availability is not an issue,” Motlanthe explained.