PSL referees have been given carte blanche for too long

SHARP TURN

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

THE world did not need Albert Einstein - or so the dubious claim goes - to tell us that “doing the same thing and expecting a different result” is foolhardy.

And yet, here we are for another Betway Premiership season, and we are again crying foul about refereeing decisions in South Africa's top football league. It does seem rather pointless. But I also have the belief that keeping quiet would be a crime.

Referees simply cannot deliver poor results on a weekly basis and escape without any consequences. There is simply too much at stake. It’s not only coaches and players’ futures that are on the line, but often the livelihood of everyone involved at the club.

It is a matter that our bombastic Minister of Sports and Culture Gayton McKenzie took a personal interest in last season.

“Tm not a minister of empty promises” was McKenzie’s pledge as he double-downed on bringing VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology to the PSL. With the cost to implement VAR the primary obstacle, McKenzie blurted out bold statements.