Referee Jelly Chavani could face a suspension from PSL matches as the SAFA refereeing review committee looks into the offside incident involving the game between Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows.
Chavani shocked the football fraternity after overturning an assistant referee’s offside decision, which was in line with the incident involving Gabadinho Mhango scoring the equalizing goal for Swallows in the dying minutes in their 2-2 draw against Sundowns last week on Monday.
The 28-year-old referee made the decision to award a goal to the Birds, which was initially ruled offside, after consulting via a communication device and headset worn by the referees.
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It seems that what Chavani was consulting was what the rule says in that incident and, after a verdict from two former referees, he seemed to have made the wrong decision.
According to former referee Victor Hlungwani, what made the incident confusing, even for the match officials, was that FIFA made a change to the offside rule, where the most important factor has to do with whether the defender I had control of the ball.
“As a key determining factor, did the player (Mosa Lebusa) have control of the ball? The answer is no. So, that’s where the offside comes in. That’s where the assistant referee marked offside because he feels that the player he was backpedaling. He never had control of the ball and Mhango was in an offside position,” Hlungwani explained on Metro FM Sports.
“So, that is offside, gaining advantage when the ball bounces or is saved and he (Mhango) gained advantage by being in that position,” said ‘El Principal’.
Another former PSL and FIFA referee, Dr Errol Sweeney, came to the same conclusion: that Sundowns defender Lebusa was not in control of the ball and therefore Mhango gained an advantage by being in an offside position. game after receiving the rebound.
“The defender (Lebusa) did not head the ball back, so the so-called back pass cannot be considered,” said Sweeney, giving his opinion on the 947 MSW.
“He tried to play the ball, which went slightly to the side, so the intention was not to pass the ball to his goalkeeper. Therefore, the attacker, in my opinion, is still offside and, in my opinion , the assistant referee was at 100%.” percent correct in raising the flag for offside,” Sweeney added.
SAFA referee chief Abdul Ebrahim has confirmed that the aforementioned incident is now in the hands of the review committee and that Chavani could face up to 12 weeks of rehabilitation, if he is found to have made a serious mistake.
“That incident (Moroka Swallows 2-2 Mamelodi Sundowns) plus all other offside incidents will be reviewed and if they detect anything, the review committee makes the recommendation and the refereeing department acts accordingly,” Ebrahim confirmed on Radio Game 2000. In.
“If a particular referee is deemed to have not performed well then we may recommend rehabilitation, meaning that referee will not be appointed for Premier League or National First Division matches but will be able to referee in the Diski Challenge League or Hollywoodbets (Super League).
“If it is a serious error, we may recommend a longer rehabilitation period. It could be from two weeks to 12 weeks, depending on the severity of the error, if there is an error that we detect,”
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