SAFA refereeing department to visit PSL clubs

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 13: Referee Masixole Babiso gives Taariq Fielies of AmaZulu FC a yellow card during the Nedbank Cup, Quarter Final match between AmaZulu FC and Orlando Pirates at Moses Mabhida Stadium on April 13, 2024 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

The South African Football Association's refereeing department is planning to visit Premier Soccer League clubs to help them understand the Laws of the Game better.

Match officials in the DStv Premiership have come under huge criticism following some questionable decisions.

The head of referees at SAFA, Abdul Ebrahim, says making mistakes does not mean match officials are not good at what they do.

READ | AmaZulu coach: I think it's a shame for the country

"We do educate them [clubs] all the time, how they respond is another thing. But we need to look at doing things differently so that they can be educated more on the Laws of the Game," Ebrahim tells KickOff.

"It's very disappointing that you play the game but you don't know the rules. We need to look at mechanisms where we can do that. I suppose we can do one-on-one sessions with the clubs. We could have group sessions.

"For example, clubs from Durban can all come together, and clubs from the Western Cape can all come together.

"So, there are various options, but we need to bridge the gap. We must do, it needs to happen sooner rather than later," he added.

Ebrahim, though, feels football lovers tend to be emotional in reaction to referees' decisions, and that when mistakes creep in, not enough understanding and empathy is shown towards match officials, who probably have the toughest job during the 90 or so minutes of a football match.

"Referees make mistakes, we all know that, but why is it that each time when a referee makes a mistake, we always talk about the standard of refereeing?

"There is nothing wrong with the standard of refereeing in South Africa, we need to deal with some of the errors that do occur, those are the ones that we need to look at individually.

"When a player misses a goal, the standard of football doesn't decline. It's merely a player who has erred.

"SuperSport United lost 4-0 to Stellenbosch FC, are they all of a sudden a bad football team?

"Referees are individuals, so we need to look at individuals, we need to analyze the error that was made and find out why it was made.

"Most people don't speak from an informed point of view, they go on what they see.

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"Because a referee didn't officiate according to them, he didn't officiate well against their team, then he is not a good referee.

"Unfortunately this is how we think, making a mistake does not mean you are not good enough. We all make mistakes in life, and it doesn't mean that we are bad people."

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