The South African Football Association (Safa) has taken disciplinary action against the officials in the PSL encounter between Cape Town City and Polokwane City at the Cape Town Stadium.

The encounter was marred by some poor officiating, which saw Benni McCarthy’s side being denied what was by all accounts a legitimate goal.

As a result of their calls, both officials, namely referee Cedrick Muvhali and assistant referee Patrick Jafta, have been suspended from officiating in the National Soccer League (NSL) from 1 October to 31 December 2017.

The duo have seen their pay being forfeited, as with their monthly stipend for the same period of October to December.

Safa senior referees manager, Ian McLeod, highlighted the fact that the actions were warranted, spurred on by increased outcries from the public to start clamping down on poor refereeing, and with special focus on the above-mentioned case.

‘This type of performance must not re-occur at any level in the future,’ he told safa.net.

Safa chair of the technical committee, Natasha Tsichlas, reiterated McLeod’s sentiments, saying that Safa has now set a presedent with their latest decision.

‘We needed to act swiftly and decisively in order to send a strong message to all match officials that such below-par performances are unacceptable, and measures will be taken against match officials who perform poorly,’ she concluded.

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