E330 000 DEVICES BLOW FOR REFEREES

MBABANE – Talk about taking one step forward and five backwards.

Just when the country has taken a giant leap in professionalising the game; it is back to square one for referees. Referees are now without the whopping E330 000 worth of communication system kit donated by the Italian Embassy on November 30, 2017. The seven-set communication system gadgets which help match officials stay in contact with each other during games, was presented by Consul Marzio D’orsi, who was accompanied by his son Lorenzo D’orsi.

The official presentation of the sponsorship was done at the office of then Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala. Eswatini Football Association (EFA) CEO Frederick Mngomezulu and PS Prince Mlayeto also attended the event. The gadgets were bought in Canada following a promise made with the then Minister of Sports, Culture and Youty Affairs David Ngcamphalala and the Eswatini National Referees Association executive committee chaired by Sipho Kunene.

Devices

When sought for comment, Kunene said the devices were with referees, but asked to be called later for further details on the issue. His phone rang when later sought for comment. One of the referees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, lamented the latest developments, highlighting that it was a blow in improving the standard of refereeing. “The devices helped a lot, as senior referees who were fourth officials would assist their inexperienced colleagues from making controversial decisions on the spot. “We stopped using the devices, as some had developed technical problems and needed to be fixed,” alleged an impeccable source. Meanwhile, when the presentation was made it was highlighted that the gadgets were needed because a number of controversial decisions had emanated from lack of communication among referees.

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