Ref attacked during Admin match

A match official who officiated during the MMK Administrators League match between Rabali Pull Together and Mikhado FC, was allegedly attacked by members of the crowd at Rabali on Saturday.

Mikhado were leading 1-0 when the match was stopped for almost 10 minutes. Fans from Pull Together then claimed that the referee, Mr Martin Rasalanavho, had robbed them of a penalty. They then claimed that the referee was biased towards Mikhado, confronted him angrily and accused him of favouritism. During the chaos, he was allegedly attacked by some of the fans.

It was reported that officials of Pull Together allegedly tried to calm down the situation by requesting the supporters to leave the pitch. The officials and players of the home team then came to the rescue of the referee.

According to Rasalanavho, the match started well and the game was evenly poised. He said that the score in the game was 1-0 in favour of Mikhado when the problems started. He added that he was attacked and that the officials and players of Pull Together had saved his life.

According to the referee, the situation became normal after 10 minutes. During the chaos, the officials of Pull Together tried to calm down the situation by requesting the supporters to leave the pitch. After the incident, the match continued and, according to Rasalanavho, he had no option but to continue with the game. He said he was not sure how the fans would have behaved if he had stopped the game.

According to an official of Mikhado, Mr Itani Musandiwa, he was surprised by the attitude of Pull Together, “by claiming a penalty which was not a penalty”. After the match, an official of Pull Together, who did not want to be named, said that he was shocked and disappointed by the way the referee had handled the game. He stressed the fact that losing a match unfairly demoralizes both the players and technical staff.

The president of SAFA Vhembe, Mr George Kubayi, said that he was still waiting for reports from the teams, the referee and the assistant referees at the time of our going to press. “Once we get these reports, we will convene a disciplinary hearing,” said Kubayi.

Date:07 April 2017

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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