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Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
ZIFA vice-president, Omega Sibanda has commended the performance of referees saying there have been little complaints coming their way concerning match officials this season.
Speaking during a refresher course being held at Hillside Teachers College in Bulawayo, Sibanda said there have not been any significant incidents involving match officials that have led to abandonment of games and have kept the integrity of the game intact.
“Match officials are an important cog in the game as they play a vital role in ensuring matches are played fairly and justly. We have not had any major complaints about referees and we are happy about this as it is a sign that our match officials are doing well,” he said.
Sibanda said they were pleased with the sturdy progression the referees have made, managing to make it to regional and international competitions.
“I think our referees have done exceedingly well under the leadership of Philip Chiyangwa as we now had fewer referees making it to the Caf panel or officiating at Cosafa matches but the trend has changed with more of our match officials being given international assignments.
“We have not disappointed either with (Norman) Matemera having distinguished himself when he reported a bribery attempt and another referee, a Nkala was selected to handle the 2018 Cosafa Under-17 final after impressing during the tournament,” he said.
Sibanda however, expressed worry with the failure to groom referees at a tender age saying there was need to have match officials being trained at 18 years of age to ensure they begin at an early age and are able to officiate right from juniors and rise through the leagues as their performance also goes up.
He also expressed worry over the fewer number of female referees and match commissioners with only 10 out of 120 attending the two-day course being women. Sibanda said as Zifa they are gender sensitive and would encourage the wider recruitment of female match officials going forward.
The Zifa vic-president also expressed worry over Division One match officials who partake in social soccer matches in the mornings when in the afternoon they would be on duty saying such referees would not be able to give their maximum performance as they would be fatigued.
He urged the referees to remain focused on their jobs as officiating at social soccer games compromises their abilities when they would be on official duty. Sibanda appealed to teams to pay referees their dues as they risked having their games abandoned as no match official would want to officiate for such a team.
“I am appealing to teams, whether Premier League, Division One or Division Two to pay referees what they owe them before the year ends as this opens our game to bribery when match officials go hungry.
“I also want to urge referees not to abandon matches if they are not paid but rather approach our offices to seek recourse and guidance on how they can get their dues,” he said.
Zimbabwe Referees Association vice-chairman, Gladmore Muzambi said the refresher course, which ends today (Sunday), drew its participants from the Zifa Class One panel and is a scheduled course that is part of their calendar.
“We have referees from five provinces, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South, Masvingo and Midlands. The course is meant to prepare them for the last lap of the season as we want to ensure it ends well and it also gives us an opportunity to impart the latest trends in modern football and ensure our referees are up-to-date with any changes,” he said.
Facilitators at the course include Dr Ndabezinhle Ncube, Muzambi, Alfred Zindove and Phila Khabo.
Online Reporter