SAFA Head of Referees Takes A Dig At Dstv Premiership Coaches

SAFA head of referees, Abdul Ebrahim, has defended the performance of match officials in the wake of controversial calls in the Dstv Premiership.

Coaches from the league have voiced their concerns regarding the growing number of controversial decisions affecting match outcomes.

SAFA: Ebrahim’s Take on Coaches’ Understanding

Ebrahim has hit back, questioning the coaches’ knowledge of the evolving football laws during a segment on Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified With Andile Ncube.

He specifically addressed comments from coaches like Ernst Middendorp, Pablo Franco Martin, Sead Ramovic, and Rulani Mokwena, suggesting they lack factual basis in their criticism.

“I like to listen to people’s comments as far as refereeing is concerned and yes these coaches, Ernst Middendorp was one, the coach from AmaZulu [Pablo Franco Martín] was another, the coach from TS Galaxy [Sead Ramovic] was another and now, Rulani Mokwena also went in and criticised referees and their officiating but they don’t give us any facts,” Ebrahim said.

When you speak about a topic, you must be informed about the topic and refereeing is unfortunately one topic that a lot of our coaches do not know anything about, they know something about it.”

SAFA: Complexity of Football Laws Highlighted And Refereeing Standards Under Scrutiny

Ebrahim emphasized the complexity of the rules, pointing out the difference between knowing and applying them, especially in analyzing challenges and offsides.

Despite the criticism, Ebrahim maintains that refereeing standards should not be solely blamed for mistakes, underscoring the importance of a deep understanding of the game’s laws.

“I heard coach Rulani mention that he knows the laws of the game. Knowing the laws of the game is one thing, understanding it and how to apply the laws is something different,” he added.

“How to analyse a challenge, how to analyse offside, comes with considerations which goes back to the laws of the game, this is what is important.

“So, yes I suppose opinions are going to be out there that the standard of refereeing is not good when a mistake happens you know all of a sudden refereeing gets the blame but that is not the case.”