Kick Off

Referees crisis

- By Shaun Sizane, via email

The standard of officiatin­g in the South African domestic game has been a major talking about in recent months.

There have been some baffling decisions that have been taken by our match officials, much to the frustratio­n of players, coaches and supporters.

Some of those officials have been suspended as a result of these decisions, but is this the right action to take in dealing with such matters?

I am of the belief that we need to provide our referees with the necessary support in assisting them to learn and develop from their mistakes. The dynamics of the game demand that referees make split second decisions, and this can have an effect in the manner they make decisions.

If we send out a message that if you make a mistake you are suspended, you are actually creating an environmen­t of fear for the other officials who will be scared of making decisions because of the fear of the repercussi­ons.

Each mistake should be judged on merit and there must remedial action that will assist the referee in learning from that error and ensuring they don’t repeat the blunder.

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