In light of the serious blunders and contentious refereeing decisions that have been made by South African referees in various Premier Soccer League matches this season, IOL Sport has launched a tool to track and record all dubious refereeing decisions.
The PSL Referee Blunder Tracker will be used to track contentious refereeing decisions in all PSL organised matches, the MTN8, Carling Cup, Nedbank Cup or the Betway Premiership.
The tool will track and record all incidents starting from October 5, 2024, which was the day of the MTN8 Cup Final between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch.
Other high profile recent incidents, including those two dubious calls in the Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns, will not be recorded as they happened before the games started being tracked.
IOL Sport journalists will update the PSL Referee Blunder every match day for the rest of the season.
Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has in recent weeks amplified calls for the VAR, video assistant referee technology, and this tool can be used as a tool to further amplify the urgent need for intervention in South African refereeing, be it professionalising the service, or simply giving the officials much needed assistance and hopefully, removing the sense of some teams feeling hard done by dodgy refereeing decisions.
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Referee Involved: Luxolo Badi
When? October 18, 2024
What happened? Stellenbosch’s forward Andre de Jong was denied a second goal to hand his team a comfortable 3-1 lead in extra time during the Amazulu vs Stellenbosch fixture in the Carling Knockout Cup. He was adjudged to be offside despite being well behind the ball.
This Stellenbosch goal by Andre de Jong was denied, adjudged to be offside in the latest refereeing howler.
Image: MrThatGuy15/X
Earlier in the same match, Stellenbosch were again denied a clear opportunity to give themselves a 2-0 lead when the referee’s assistant again wrongly flagged for offside, denying the Cape side an opportunity to capitalize on Amazulu’s high line. - Sihle Mlambo
Any action taken by SAFA? None so far.
Referee Involved: Abongile Tom
When? October 5, 2024
What happened? Orlando Pirates midfielder Monnapule Saleng was fouled by a Stellenbosch defender during the MTN8 Cup Final. The referee blew for the foul and play stopped. However, Pirates midfielder Relebohile Mokoena quickly took a quick free kick about 7 metres away from where the foul was committed, played a through ball behind the Stellies defence, leading to Mabasa scoring with a neat left foot finish.
According to Law 13 of the International Football Association Board: “All free kicks are taken from the place where the offence occurred” and that the ball “must be stationary”. - Sihle Mlambo
Any action taken by SAFA? None so far.