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Football coaches and fans are not the only ones unhappy with the standard of refereeing in the country; the technical committee, which oversees the training and development of match officials, is also discouraged.
“It goes without saying that one doesn’t feel comfortable when mistakes happen, especially the ones that could have been avoided with better preparation and training,” said Jerome Damon, chairperson of the technical subcommittee on refereeing.
The committee is made up of Damon, Enock Molefe, Abdul Ebrahim, Deidre Zealand and Cindy Ndlala.
“I don’t enjoy seeing our officials making mistakes,” said Damon. “It is even more frustrating to see them being repeated. It is frustrating to the point that you look for a quick fix, and often this doesn’t work.
“I am not going to shy away from the fact that there have been mistakes – some of them game-changing mistakes. This is unacceptable at any level.
“Our focus is on why this is happening and what is wrong. This is where the committee members come in and look at the possible causes. We are now also looking to find solutions.”
However, the former Fifa referee was quick to point out that not all the criticism levelled against officials was legitimate and justifiable.
“There have been instances where our officials were wrongfully accused of making incorrect decisions by uninformed people, people who are very stubborn when it comes to taking advice when guided on the laws of the game,” said Damon.
“This is very unfortunate because some people are misleading the public, feeding them the wrong information and the wrong interpretation of the rules.”
The committee’s primary role is to oversee the training and development of all match officials in the country, from those in the amateur ranks to those in the professional leagues.
“We are the custodians of identifying talent, nurturing it and growing officials through the officiating panels. There is a lot that we are doing behind the scenes to make sure that our officials are in a position to do their jobs properly. We have identified some of the problems and are addressing them,” said Damon, without going into further detail.
He said it was easy to criticise from the outside without knowing the facts: “It’s hard when you are on the inside, especially if you are not practising all the time or following how the state of play is developing.”
Damon said that what was happening on the field was not a bad reflection on the committee, adding that plans were in place to ensure everything ran smoothly.
“As a committee, you cannot be everywhere, so we rely on Fifa-trained instructors and match assessors to assist with ongoing training.”
Damon said the committee was not fretting about the recent spate of botched calls by match officials, but was rather all about resolving problems.
“We are former referees with lots of experience. We are trying to find solutions. I am a firm believer that every problem has a viable solution. We are there as technicians to make sure that we give guidance and find solutions.”
He said the committee was constantly looking at ways to improve officiating standards, from holding preseason seminars led by Fifa to hosting refresher courses and monitoring officials throughout the season.
“We rely heavily on match assessors to help us identify gaps so we can come up with intervention measures. This can be done through the review committee and be based on assessors’ reports, because we are better able to rehabilitate officials when issues are identified.
“Assessors are crucial in the development of officials. If the assessors are unable to identify problems, we will not be able to improve on them. If a number of assessors’ reports are inaccurate, this will affect how referees develop and grow. We have already introduced hyperlinked videos to go with the assessors’ reports as a way of improving their services.”
Meanwhile, on Friday, the PSL disciplinary committee handed a six-month ban to Cape Town City midfielder Mpho Makola.
He was found guilty of assaulting match official Abongile Tom during his team’s Telkom Knockout Cup quarterfinal game against Kaizer Chiefs last month.
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