What SAFA Head of referees anticipates from officials next season 

SAFA Head of Referees Abdul Ebrahim has reflected on last season’s match officiating, admitting there is room to improve ahead of next season.

Sikhumbuzo Gasa was the top performer amongst his peers as he was voted the Referee of the 2023/24 Season. Romario Phiri walked away with the Assistant Referee of the Season award.

But match officials were critically scrutinised in both the DStv Premiership and the Motsepe Foundation Championship. This resulted in some officials being placed under the SAFA rehabilitation programme for their errors.

Speaking to FARPost, Ebrahim admits that the development of match officials is an ongoing process but he hopes the standard will be better than last season.

MATCH OFFICIALS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE AHEAD OF NEXT PSL SEASON

“With refereeing in general you want to see an improvement from the year before,” he said.

“I know that there was a week or two where match officials were always in the news. Yes, I have to admit there were errors made but development in refereeing is always something that is always ongoing.

“Like everything in life, you can always improve on a previous performance. This is what we remind our match officials about,” he said.

WHAT ADVICE SAFA HEAD OF REFEREES ABDUL EBRAHIM GIVES TO HIS OFFICIALS

“We tell them not to sit on a mistake that they may have made. Learn from it and look forward to the next game. We rehabilitate them and hopefully, when they come back, they come back even stronger.”

Meanwhile, PSL match officials are set to undergo a five-day pre-season workshop next month.

The workshop deals with new amendments to the laws of the game as well as the fitness tests.

Match officials who fail the tests will miss out on being considered for the upcoming season. They will be required to undergo a re-run of the fitness tests after a period of six weeks.

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