Player, referee in hot water

Wits say Gould’s punch should also lead to whistleman Mfiki being punished

IDVEST Wits have called for South Africa’s footballing authorities to take action against Kaizer Chiefs defender Morgan Gould and referee Lwandile Mfiki following Gould’s “brutal assault” on Clever Boys forward Getaneh Kebede in the Absa Premiership match between the two sides on Saturday night.

Gould punched Kebede in the 61st minute of Saturday’s 2-1 win for Amakhosi, and though Mfiki awarded a free kick, he did not even caution, let alone send off the Chiefs defender.

This has clearly incensed Wits CEO José Ferreira, who in a strongly-worded statement complained that “the performances of our match officials in PSL matches have deteriorated to unprecedented levels.

“We have had an opportunity to review the video evidence as well as the match commissioners report and we demand that disciplinary action be taken, not only against … Gould, for the brutal assault on our player, but equally important to us, against … Mfiki.

“We have asked the South African Football Association to take action against Mr Mfiki for his failure to send Gould off for violent conduct.

“At Bidvest Wits, we have a reputation for not formally complaining about poor officiating, but we feel that we have kept quiet for far too long and that we need to take formal steps against the persistent and continuous poor refereeing decisions in the Premier Soccer League.”

It is the PSL’s responsibility to lay any disciplinary charges against Gould, and they could not confirm yesterday whether they would be taking action against the Chiefs defender.

That is likely to depend on the content of the report of the referee and match commissioner.

BThe PSL did confirm that they had received a letter from Wits, but said they would not be issuing any response.

Safa, meanwhile, said that it was standard policy for their review committee to look into all refereeing displays from any given weekend, and that the association would take action against Mfiki if necessary.

Safa CEO Dennis Mumble, however, added that he did not appreciate the public nature of Wits’ complaint.

“Wits must not speak to us through the media,” said Mumble.

“There are procedures they have to follow. Our review committee … will recommend what needs to be done, but Wits must not take liberties.

“We will take a serious look at this stuff and the performance of referees is a serious issue for us, but we must say to our members that first and foremost, if they want to say anything to us, they must not speak to us through the media, it is just not appropriate.

“We don’t take kindly to them releasing a statement before talking to us; they could also be subject to disciplinary action.”

Gould apologised for his punch on Twitter immediately after the Wits match, and Kaizer Chiefs also issued an apology yesterday on their website.

“The Club has decided to institute corrective measures against Morgan Gould and subsequently apologised to Kebede and Bidvest Wits,” said a Chiefs statement.

“The Club has set high standard (sic) for the players and expect the players to uphold that at all times. The Club has mechanisms in place to monitor the players’ conduct and views this particular incident in serious light.

“Morgan Gould has apologised to the Club and agreed to co-operate with the internal processes.”