Former Moroka Swallows and Black Leopards head coach Zeca Marques says FIFA is the reason there is so much poor officiating in the Premier Soccer League.
On Tuesday, South Africa witnessed some poor officiating by match officials who were in charge of the Kaizer Chiefs and TS Galaxy FC.
The league encounter that took place at Peter Mokaba Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw, with a series of poor decisions being made by match officials.
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"To be honest nothing has changed, it's just that it's being more highlighted now, and people are starting to pay more attention to it," Marques tells KickOff.
"It's a normal problem we coaches face week in week out, it's decisions, decisions.
"But in defense of the referees, the laws of the game are not clear cut as black and white. If you read it, it's up to the interpretation of someone. And that becomes a problem.
"So this referee interprets it this way, he will blow. The next referee doesn't interpret it that way, he will not blow. That's why I say it's not clear-cut.
"If you go past a robot and it's red, well you need to stop, there is no option. But the rules of the game are not all like that.
"If it's a penalty they will tell you, oh was his arm down? Was his arm here? Was his arm up? was his arm close...it's all those unforeseen circumstances that make life difficult for the referees. That's number one.
"Number two, what I understand is that a lot of referees know the laws of the game inside out, but they don't know how to interpret them, which is a problem.
"So that becomes even a bigger problem because learning the laws of the game is like learning anything in life. But how do I transfer the knowledge that I have into a situation?
"When you talk to these referees, they know the laws, but it's the interpretation of the laws they don't understand."
Marques admits continuous errors by referees do put coaches' jobs at risk.
"Well it cost me my job, and that's why I keep on saying we as coaches are judged by other people's incompetence," he added.
"As a coach, I can do my job 100% but come to the game on Wednesday and lose 1-0 because a referee made a mistake, and I will get the blame because a referee made a mistake. The referee's assistant is also to blame.
"But I understand why it's difficult for them. Look at the off-side law, they have to be watching the moment the ball is kicked, and the last player in front of him...how do you manage that?
"You are not a chameleon, you can't stretch your eyes in two different ways. That's why I'm saying FIFA is not helping the game. They are killing the game with these laws of the game.
"And the way they apply it it's not clear cut, obviously the referees are under tremendous pressure, some of them make mistakes, and others get influenced to make mistakes, which is another issue.
"People are always going on about making referees in the country professional...how is that going to change the character of an individual?
"It's not gonna make things easier if he doesn't understand the concept of the law. And that makes it even more difficult.
"We watch European football, and we see how sometimes their referees are getting it wrong, hence I'm saying FIFA is not helping the game by making the laws of the game very complicated."
