League, Safa to tackle poor referees

The PSL wants to tackle the issue of poor refereeing once and for all. The quality of refereeing will be on the agenda of a meeting between the PSL and football governing body Safa.

Since the beginning of the season, match officials have come under the spotlight for their below-par performances.

At the PSL's AGM in Kempton Park yesterday, chairman Irvin Khoza confirmed that the matter would be addressed with Safa. "The most important thing that emerged from this meeting today was the request from the board of governors to discuss the issue of the referees with Safa.

"We had the acting CEO of Safa here and he agreed to take the matter up. If that agreement is ratified, there is a special meeting of the board of governors to discuss the issue of the referees." Khoza said.

While refereeing standards overseas have advanced with the use of goal-line technology and Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the quality here at home has regressed.

Khoza said the possible introduction of VAR would be looked at. "We cannot talk about VAR without Safa on board. That prerogative lies with Safa as a controlling body for referees," Khoza said.

"It's a necessary thing to have because it will eliminate some of the debates. The league is growing so much and is attractive; we want to avoid having people discuss wrong things instead of looking at the product we are producing."