Blockbuster refs named

EXPERIENCED and composed Kwekwebased referee Munyaradzi Majoni has been handed the whistle for the blockbuster league encounter between Highlanders and Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

The secondary school headmaster will be assisted by fellow Midlands officials, Edgar Rumeck, first assistant and Thomas Kusosa, second assistant while Bulawayo’s Pilani Ncube will be the fourth official in a match in which retired referee Edson Nkau will be the commissioner.

Zimbabwe Referees’ Committee vice chairman Gladmore Muzambi confirmed the appointment and said there was nothing amiss about naming the officials ahead of the crack encounter as it was the norm worldwide.

Previously, match officials’ appointment has been a closely guarded secret.

Majoni is one of the most experienced local referees in the country and has a character that is not easily intimidated by both the players and the fans, who are expected to fill Emagumeni to the brim tomorrow, probably for the first time in over a decade.

He has very few, if any cases of poor performance, regardless of the teams playing but many Highlanders fans will remember Rumeck for his shocking decision in 2015 when he flagged for offside after a goal by Obadiah Tarumbwa deep into injury time when Bosso played FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium. His decision denied Highlanders victory as the match ended 2-2.

He was immediately suspended by the Zimbabwe Referees Committee for his poor performance. The two assistants will be coming to Barbourfields for the third time this season having first been here for the Bosso/Shabanie Mine encounter in which Kusosa’s raised flag resulted in a Rodreck Mutuma goal being disallowed for offside. Highlanders went on to lose 0-1 to the former asbestos miners. — @ skhumoyo2000