Publications
Partners
Safa is hoping that its dispute with the PSL over the multimillion-rand match officials’ sponsorship deal will be resolved during an arbitration meeting that is scheduled to take place later this month.
The matter is set down for February 28 following a protracted dispute that exploded after Safa unveiled a R50 million five-year sponsorship deal with OUTsurance in September 2018.
The start of the Nedbank Cup Last 32 this week served as a reminder of the ongoing stand-off as the referees were banned from officiating in the insurance services company’s branded kits in any of the Ke Yona competition matches, as well as in the Absa Premiership matches.
The PSL contends that the deal with the insurance company is in direct conflict with the rights of Nedbank and Absa because both banks sponsor the league.
Professional referees in South Africa are administered by Safa, who provide them with training and apparel, while the PSL is the special member of the football governing body. Safa’s acting chief executive, Gay Mokoena, told City Press this week: “It is a difference of opinion. I think this matter will be resolved [at arbitration] so we can move on.”
He added: “Arbitration is set down for February 28, but you know it might take a day or two to conclude. And, in terms of our football rules, the arbitration [decision] should be final and all the parties should accept the outcome so that we can all move on with organised football.”
But the impasse is interpreted by those privy to politics in the domestic game as highlighting a power struggle behind the scenes between the two football bodies.
“We are making progress in terms of mending the relations [with the PSL],” insisted Mokoena.
Meanwhile, Mokoena said Safa met with the police this week to provide an update on its efforts to respond to the allegations of match manipulation in the lower league, particularly in the NFD’s GladAfrica Championship.
Fifa has offered to help Safa get to the bottom of the claims, but, in the meantime, the world soccer governing body has requested the local association’s integrity officer Alex Abercrombie to present information that could set the investigation in motion.
“The work is in progress. We are still gathering information, but we need more,” Fifa said.
“We encourage all those people who have been very vocal [about this] to come forward,” he said.
Amid the claims of corruption, the Safa referees’ department has been assigning its top referees to officiate in some NFD matches.
This week, Jomo Cosmos owner and coach Jomo Sono was the latest to open up about some suspect officiating in the second-tier structure. Speaking to the media in the build-up to his team’s Nedbank Cup first-round clash against ABC Motsepe League side Hungry Lions today, Sono made the startling claim that “some [referees] just come out to rob you”.
 |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
