Match referee’s results are final!
Post Sport
STANDARDS of match officiating in the country are on a freefall, with referees literally deciding the results of competitive matches, not only in the Castle Lager Premiership, but in the four regional second tier leagues.
The world-over in football discourse, the referee’s decision during any competitive match is final and those aggrieved are expected to play under protest.
In Zimbabwe, it now appears, it is not only their decisions that are final, but they are literally deciding match results and their results are final!
Only recently, Manica Diamonds FC were reportedly subjected to atrocious match officiating in their league encounter against Shaesham FC at Bata Stadium in Gweru.
GreenFuel FC expressed maturity of highest level to remain on the pitch until the final whistle when they were subjected to unfair refereeing in their encounter against Highlanders at GreenFuel Sports Arena in Chisumbanje.
The list is endless and in Division One, the situation is even worse off!
The situation gets dire when the season moves towards the end where championship and relegation battles take centre stage.
But somehow, those who manage the affairs of the match officials in the country are still happy with the standards being witnessed.
In a wide-ranging interview on the state of match officiating in the country, Referee’s Committee chairperson, Norman Matemera said: “Having come in on August 1, 2023, to a large extent
I am happy with the officiating I have witnessed though there is room for improvement.”
However, Matemera acknowledges the need to improve the standards.
“A lot needs to be improved refereeing wise. Mind you, we are coming from the FIFA suspension. We are now very much behind compared to other nations in the world.
“There are new philosophies and techniques which our referees have to grasp in order to enhance the quality of refereeing. Currently, we are in the middle of conducting FIFA courses for referees, match assessors, instructors, commissioners and young referees. We started on October 30 and will finish on November 17,” he said.
It appears the clubs themselves have lost confidence in the outcomes of their complaints against referees, no wonder why none of them bother placing their grievances in writing.
Matemera said: “Since we came in, we have never received any official complaints from teams. We hear of the complaints from the media. I would not know if they were complaining before.”
The decreasing standards of match officiating, coupled with the recent suspension of the country from the global family of football playing nations saw local referees being sidelined from international competitions.
Back then, when referees were still referees, the country had exemplary match officials with the likes of the legendary Felix Tangawarima, Brighton Mudzamiri, Kenias Marange, Masimba Chihowa, Kuda Majo-Chiramba, Stellah Ruvinga and Claris Simango.
“Yes, we had very fine referees from the past and even the current generation like Faith Mloyi in Elite A who was earmarked to compete for a chance in the 2022 AFCON edition before the ban affected her and decided to retire.
“A lot has changed during our suspension that we need to close the gap. There was the CAF concept and FIFA philosophy which were introduced during our suspension.
“So our referees have to first understand these concepts before we expect much from them. Moreover, it is now a requirement for every tournament referee to be VAR compliant and as a nation we still have a long way to go to satisfy this requirement.
“We are, however, thankful to COSAFA for training our two referees, Grace Gimo and Claris Simango to be VAR compliant. As such, we are in the right direction towards moulding candidates for AFCON and World Cup tournaments,” he said.
Matemera admitted that they have sanctioned a number of referees in the current 2023 Premiership season.
“When we receive an adverse report about our referees from our match commissioners, we take necessary action against the errant referees. A sizeable number have been sanctioned in different ways during the whole season. The objective is to correct our mistakes,” he said.
On the PSL relegation matrix allocation of referees, Matemera said:
“I have confidence in my referees, the approach has always been the same. These are the same referees who have been officiating throughout the season. We only emphasize that referees must put maximum effort till the end of the season.”