South African referee Victor Hlungwani did not blunder in Zimbabwe
Hlungwani did not blunder
Posted: 2011-11-10 18:11
It appears that a so-called 'blunder' by Safa referee Victor Hlungwani in Zimbabwe at the weekend was no blunder, and that those who perceived it as such do not know the rules of the game.
Hlungwani, along with his colleagues Sandile Dilikane and Leon Mnqibisa, were roped into officiate in a tense cup match across the border between Dynamos and FC Platinum.
During the game he showed Platinum's captain Daniel Vheremu a red card, but then immediately reversed his decision, which led to a furore among the Zimbabwe referees who had been sidelined following allegations by Zifa of corruption and graft.
The Zim refs used Hlungwani's 'blunder' to illustrate that there are no perfect match officials and to give weight to a planned boycott of upcoming matches.
However, Adeel Carelse, Safa's chairman of the referee's technical committee, has drawn KickOff.com's attention to the fact Hlungwani did not blunder and that his rescinding of the red card was perfectly within his rights.
Carelse points out that in terms of football laws, a referee may change his mind as long as he has not restarted play.
"In this instance, after showing the red card Victor realised he had made a mistake before restarting play, and as such rescinded the decision, in line with the tenements of law 5.
"If he had restarted play and then rescinded the card, then it would have been a blunder, but he realised the mistake and took corrective action."
Carelse also posed the question of why fans and the media never debate the standard of local football.
"Why is it that we never lambast players that err, in fact this magazine protects them notwithstanding poor performances.
"We have shown that it is our intention to improve our standard of officiating and have taken steps to curb poor performances. The same is not said about poor playing standards.
"Is it that we so are hell-bent on blaming referees, that we neglect the standard of football? And could, or wish, not to lay the blame where it belongs.
"In business management this is a variable called 'satisficing'. That is the ability to take the easy option because the correct option would be too costly or ghastly to implement. The question is: are we guilty of 'satisficing'?"
: 2011-11-11 06:33
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