Nine games no pay, Zim referees cry foul

ZIFA referees committee is crying foul after Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League [PSL] have gone nine games unpaid.

over non-payment of referees in the last nine rounds of fixtures.  

Committee vice-chairman Ruzive Ruzive admitted that non-payment or delays in disbursing the funds leave referees vulnerable to bribery and corruption.

Ruzive, a former referee himself, feels the league authorities are not prioritizing match officials.

REFEREES WANT TO IMPROVE THE OFFICIATING

“While we are making efforts to improve the officiating,” Ruzive said in an interview with Star FM.

“It is sad to note that the referees are not being paid on time. There is a backlog of referees not being paid.

“One senior referee called me telling me that he hasn’t been paid for the last nine matches.

“This is a cause for concern because how do you expect the referees to serve the game when they are not being paid for their services?”

Ruzive stressed that non-payment of referees promotes bribery and corruption.

“We urge the Premier Soccer League and the clubs to look into this matter as an issue of priority.

“We have zero tolerance for corruption, but such issues leave referees vulnerable to bribery from some unethical club officials even though we have our ears on the ground to weed out such cases.

“And ZIFA still want fairness on the field of play.” At the moment, the country boasts 63 certified referees.

FAILED FITNESS TESTS

However, Ruzive said they will be relentless in their pursuit to remain with competent referees, with at least 17 set to be cut into the wilderness because of underperformance.

“We now have 63 referees left on the elite panel after 12 failed fitness tests and the others didn’t pitch up for the refresher courses that we held.

“ZIFA still want to reduce the number to 46 so that we have the best practices.

“We have been noting some improvements since we started having regular refresher courses and we want to continue improving the officiating,” Ruzive said.