SAFA issues 16-week ban for match officials from PSL games

SABC Sport has confirmed that the SAFA review committee has suspended three match officials from Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches for four months and recommended a rehabilitation program.

This action follows a wrong decision made by referee Velaphi Sicelo, his assistant Jantjie Dlamini, and fourth official Tshediso Maruping during a Motsepe Foundation Championship match between Casric Stars and Venda FC last month.

With the match tied at Lucas Moripe Stadium in added time, the review committee noted a lack of “teamwork and communication,” which resulted in Venda FC scoring an offside goal and winning 3-2.

In a letter to the officials, which was shared with the public broadcaster, the panel decided on the 16-week ban due to their failure to identify the mistake, which “had a direct impact on the outcome of the match.”

Although the game wasn’t broadcast, a video of the incident circulated on social media shortly after the match.

The review committee’s decision was based on their regular meetings to discuss officiating in the PSL, which has faced significant criticism this season, especially without video assistant referee (VAR) technology.

Sicelo, Dlamini, and Maruping will need to meet regularly with an instructor during their four-month ban from officiating professional matches.

The review committee also revealed that Maruping had lied in his report about the incident during the Casric versus Venda FC match.

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