As the South African football community grapples with intense scrutiny surrounding refereeing, former Premier Soccer League (PSL) referee Jerome Damon has stepped into the fray to share his perspectives on the current landscape of officiating.
Following a spate of controversial calls by referees Sikhumbuzo Gasa and Abongile Tom, football enthusiasts and pundits alike have raised their voices, questioning the integrity of officiating during pivotal matches.
Notably, the MTN8 Final saw Orlando Pirates lift the trophy amid allegations that a critical officiating decision favoured them over Stellenbosch FC.
Such incidents have ignited debates on whether the officiating quality within the league is adequate to support the intense passions of its fans.
The referee says this was a dive, and he gave a TS Galaxy a red card. Sibisi got the man here. 🤣🤣🤣
Indeed Abongile Tom has multiplied. The chairman's team is definitely unstoppable with these referees. pic.twitter.com/Zl7prNBSjG
— Sundowns Online Branch (@MSFC__) October 29, 2024
With over 15 years of officiating experience and two Referee of the Year awards to his name, Damon offers a uniquely informed view.
“Refereeing is in a good place in comparison to the refereeing standards in the world and the only advantage they have over us is VAR,” he stated.
“With the minister of sport meeting SAFA in recent weeks, I think the possibility of VAR could be expected sooner rather than later.”
Damon highlighted the evolving nature of the sport, noting, “Refereeing in this day and age is different because not only is the game a lot faster but so is the social media attention as well.”
He underscored the increasing pressure referees face, exacerbated by widespread criticism often stemming from ‘unqualified journalists’ who opine on contentious decisions after replaying incidents multiple times.
The former referee asserted that the weight of scrutiny surrounding referees’ mistakes tends to overshadow their commendable performances.
“I also think the noise around the mistakes referees make far outweigh that of brilliant moments like the recent one in the game against Pirates and Magesi,” he stated.
Ladies and gentlemen,your man of the match as usual – Abongile Tom of Orlando Pirates FC #MTN8Final #mtn8final2024 #MTN8 pic.twitter.com/5TNRAnz2vV
— SolMad08 (@Madumetja__M08) October 5, 2024
The spotlight is expected to be on the man in the middle once again in the upcoming battle between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter final in theevening.
The Betway Premiership encounter between these two teams also had poor officiating at the top of the many football highlights on the day.
Meetings between Chiefs, Sundowns and Pirates have always been separated by the tiniest of margins and mistakes in the past.
Having been in between numerous feisty contests between the so-called ‘big three’, Damon urged whichever official selected for that encounter to leave past events off the field as they handle one of the trickiest challenges on the football calendar.
“Don’t profile matches and in the same breath fans shouldn’t prejudge referees” he insisted.
“From my time and now still, the matches that attract the most pressure have always been between Pirates and Sundowns and then Chiefs and Sundowns, the Soweto Derby just a spectacle, and referees aren’t often required to play a major role.”
