NO RECOURSE FOR WRONG RED CARD
But mistaken identity reversible
AS much as Orlando Pirates are livid over the sending off of their midfielder Lehlogonolo Masalesa at the weekend, the rules don’t allow for the red card to be rescinded in his case.
“There is a recourse [for clubs to appeal] but it provides for mistaken identity only,” Safa head of referees Peter Sejake told Sowetan, spelling out PSL rule 52.12 on suspensions.
This applies to both yellow and red card appeals, he said. However, underperforming match officials can be sanctioned by the Safa referees’ review committee, which monitors the conduct of officiating within the PSL, National First Division and the ABC Motsepe structures.
Masalesa was red-carded for a second bookable offence in Pirates’ 4-1 win over Golden Arrows on Saturday, a decision that irked the player and his coach Eric Tinkler.
But the midfielder must now accept his fate, which means a four-match ban as he had been dismissed in two other games this season.
It’s unclear why Safa and the PSL do not follow world trends, which allow for cards issued dubiously to be rescinded. In Spain’s La Liga and the English Premiership, wrongful dismissals or unmerited cautions can be reversed.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo once had yellow cards overturned.
Early this year, West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate – who was red-carded in two separate cases – had his suspensions removed from record by the English FA review committee.
In one of the rare cases where a red card was rescinded on review in the domestic league, Bloemfontein Celtic had a red card rescinded after their striker Geoffrey Sserunkuma was wrongfully sent off during the 2008 Telkom Knockout semifinal against Pirates.
In 2003, Moroka Swallows goalkeeper Greg Etafia had his red card reversed after referee Jerome Damon admitted to have erred.
Sejake said the review committee panel make a ruling based on “match recordings [in a DVD format] from all the games that were televised, the match commissioner’s report and the referee’s assessment”.
“We get the referees’ and commissioners’ reports within 48 hours after the match.”
NFD log leaders Baroka FC, meanwhile, have written to the PSL appealing against the sending off of their captain, Olaleng Shaku, in their league game against Mbombela United last week.