SAFA Applauds Match Officials Gomes And Siwela After Champions League Performance

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has showered referee Victor Gomes and assistant Zakhele Siwela with praise after the duo officiated in the CAF Champions League final between Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca on Monday night.

Gomes’ performance with the whistle in Casablanca put him in a strong position as one of the best referees on the African continent.

SAFA president Dr Danny Jordaan, who was one of the thousands who made their way past the gates at the Stade Mohamed V to watch the match in Casablanca, led the praise for the two South African officials and said many in the stands were impressed by the way they handled the match.

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“I want to congratulate Victor Gomes on a strong performance in the CAF Champions League in Casablanca,” he said from the North African country on Tuesday.

“While speaking to many people here, the consensus was his performance confirmed him as one of the best two referees on the continent. We congratulate him. The same goes for Zakhele Siwela, who also delivered another sterling performance as assistant referee.

“The other South Africans who were also involved in the Champions League final, Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane and striker Percy Tau, unfortunately could not repeat last year’s performance. But they still gave a good account of themselves.”

Gomes and his trusted lieutenant, Siwela, are already blazing a trail and have also been appointed as part of the officials that will officiate at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar from 21 November to 18 December 2022.

The two-handled the AFCON final between Senegal and Egypt in Cameroon early this year with aplomb and their reputation as the best African officials has been growing with every game.

However, Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane who was on the losing side against Wydad Casablanca thought Gomes could have done better than that on the day. Pitso believes Gomes should’ve added more time after 90 minutes as he stopped the match at some point to fix his watch and the goalkeeper of Wydad wasted some time.

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“The referee should have kept time, as the referee himself replaced his watch in 3 minutes and the goalkeeper fell to the ground several times and wasted more than three minutes,” he told the media at the post-match press conference.

“In addition to the stadium boys who wasted a lot of time while returning the ball, this happened because Al-Ahly was playing the match on the opponent’s court, it was natural for Wydad to win in all these circumstances.”