South African Football Association (SAFA) have confirmed that they are in the process of rehabilitating referees following costly errors in recent matches.
The announcement comes after SuperSport United were shockingly eliminated from the Nedbank Cup following a 1-0 defeat to fourth-tier side, Mamelodi Stars.
Mamelodi Stars’ coach, Matthews Mabuya, said that his team was underestimated and that the defeat left them “upset and embarrassed”.
“Hats off to them, they came away from home to the team that’s coming second in the PSL, they showed tremendous spirit and fight, they brought a little band of supporters,” Matthews said on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
“They came in their two quantum bakkies and they showed they wanted the game more than my boys who came in a luxury 60-seater bus, so you know as much as it is disappointing, definitely the worst result in the history of the football club.”
The coach also said that his side was not the first to suffer such an upset in the Nedbank Cup, as even big teams such as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have experienced similar losses.
In response to the recent errors, SAFA have confirmed that they are in the process of rehabilitating referees, in order to ensure that such costly mistakes do not happen again.
“We are aware of the recent errors and we are doing our best to ensure that our referees are up to scratch,” said SAFA President, Danny Jordaan.
“We are in the process of rehabilitating our referees and we are confident that this will help to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated.”
