Top South African referee Victor Gomes retires

International referee Victor Gomes has ended speculation around his future by announcing his retirement from the beautiful game.

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Prior to his departure to Qatar, where he participated at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there were rumours that Gomes would retire. Now the top referee, who represented South Africa and the continent in Qatar, has indeed confirmed that he has blown his final whistle.

“The dream started when I was only a child. Now that I’ve achieved the World Cup I’m grateful and ready to spend time with my family. The 8 hour flight was enough for me to make the decision to retire. We discussed this with my wife,” said Gomes during an interview with Rover Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide on Monday.

“I believe I’ve been better than those who have come before me and I want others to come and also do better than me. Football is in my blood, I will leave the field but I will still contribute towards lifting the SA’s flag high.”

Gomes also revealed which player gave him the tough time during his long refereeing professional career that started in 2008 when he made his Premier Soccer League debut.

In Qatar, Gomes was in charge of two group stage games – France’s 4-1 win over Australia and Spain’s 2-1 loss to Japan.

He was also the fourth official for the quarter-final match between Argentina and Netherlands.

His last Premier Soccer League clash was the Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs on 29 October, which Amakhosi won 1-0, courtesy of Yusuf Maart’s stunning long range goal.