Ex-referee Ncobo comments on ‘shameful’ officiating in MTN8

Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) referee and general manager, Ace Ncobo says the refereeing in the MTN8 last weekend was “shameful”. 

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He says as a former referee, he was left ashamed at some of the decisions taken by various officials in various games over the weekend. 

Questions about the standard of refereeing started on Saturday in the game between Orlando Pirates and Swallows FC where the Dube Birds were denied what looked to be a clear goal. 

The referee ruled Keletso Mkgalwa’s goal offside when he had not been offside. It was Ruzaign Gamildien who was in an offside position and he moved away from the action meaning he was not interfering with play. 

But the goal was ruled offside, denying Swallows a third goal that would have been an insurance goal. Swallows however still won the match 2-1. 

More complaints were to come on Sunday during the Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs match. First, it was the refereeing team missing a clear handball when Cole Alexander handled the ball inside the Chiefs box. 

This would have been a penalty and given Sundowns a chance to go 3-1 up. Sundowns went on to win the game in the penalty shootout where more drama unfolded and more complaints about the referees came out. 

What was sad about this game is that it was officiated by a trusted and Fifa-approved team of Victor Gomes and Zakhele Siwela. 

Siwela came under fire after failing to see that Itumeleng Khune had punched Lyle Lakay’s penalty when it had already gone over the line. 

Speaking to Thabiso Mosia on SAfm SportOn on Monday evening, Ncobo said this was because he was wrong-footed which rendered him unable to see the goal line properly. 

“With the penalty that went over the line and wasn’t given, the positioning of the assistant referee was not correct. His right foot was on the goal line which means his eyes were looking inside the field. So with his positioning, he would not have seen the ball go over the line,” he said

Kennedy Mweene was the hero of the day as he made four saves to help Sundowns win the shootout 2-1. But complaints about how he moved off his line before the kick was taken soon flooded social media. 

“There were four brilliant saves by Mweene who used the luxury that is afforded by the game which says don’t be rigid. Out of those four, three were marginal and one was blatant and should have been retaken,” said Ncobo. 

“It is now up to SAFA’s review committee to decide what happens with the officials. Also, they need to be transparent with the action they take. But with Wendell Robinson, he had a device and saw the replay. But he has no right to be VAR, you can’t be your own VAR,” he added.