Forty-seven-year-old ref still going strong

Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent
THE last time that a Bulawayo-based referee scooped the Referee of the Year award was 12 years ago and that man was Tabani Mnkantjo.

The coveted top referees award is back in the City of Kings after Martin Chivandire was voted the outstanding match official of the just ended 2021/ 22 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League at an awards ceremony in Harare recently.

Chivandire is a senior police officer by profession and is the Officer-in-Charge of Pumula Police Station.
He is studying for a Masters Degree in Police and Security Studies in India.

Sunday Life caught up with the 47-year-old Chivandire and he shared his views on the standards of refereeing in the country, bribery allegations against match officials among other issues.

“It feels great to be voted the Referee of the Year and what is special about this award is that the last time a Bulawayo-based referee won it was in 2010. This year another Bulawayo referee Faith Mloyi also got the first runner-up award, which is great for the city.

“I have been refereeing for seven years and to win the award at the end of my career feels awesome,” said Chivandire.

How does he balance police work and refereeing?

“In the police force, there is a lot of emphasis on physical activity and every Wednesday officers take part in various sporting activities so that helps me keep in good physical condition. When I’m officiating a game, say at Gibbo Stadium in the Lowveld, I make sure that I do my office work even at night and leave everything in order before I travel.

“It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to balance my police work and refereeing and I have been doing it for years so I’m able to keep a perfect balance between the two,” he said.

The standard of refereeing came under the spotlight in the just ended season with some officials accused of taking bribes to favour certain teams.

Chivandire believes that there will always be bad apples in every profession but a majority of referees in the country do their work professionally.

“If there are referees that are accepting bribes then they are painting a bad picture about a majority of match officials who do their job without fear or favour. I think clubs must also make sure that match officials are paid their match fees on time so that referees are not tempted to accept bribes.

“There is always room for match officials to improve the standard of refereeing in the country so it’s important that we continuously take part in refresher courses and also get exposure in regional and international competitions like Cosafa and Africa Nations Cup,” explained Chivandire.

He will be in India for the next two years and does not harbour any thoughts of retiring from refereeing.

“I will continue refereeing and when the guys in India heard that I was voted the top referee they asked me to bring my gear so that I can continue officiating in their country,” he said.
Follow on Twitter @RaymondJaravaza