The raucous about poor officiating in Kenyan Premier League matches is not about to end.
Several top-flight gaffers have expressed dismay at the quality of refereeing in the country with Tusker’s Robert Matano being the latest to add his voice to the ballooning displeasure.
Last week, the visibly livid tactician called for tough sanctions against officials who intentionally ruin fixtures with ridiculous calls.
Matano claimed Tusker were robbed in their barren draw against Posta Rangers at the Ruaraka Sports grounds on December 10.
‘The Lion’ protested the referee’s decision to ‘deny them three obvious penalties’.
The gaffer said he had no problem losing in a fairly-officiated match, adding that referees assigned to officiate high-profile matches must rise to the occasion.
Matano has also demanded that the committee of referees suspend or remove the aforementioned centre referee.
His remarks echoed Nzoia Sugar head coach Godfrey Oduor’s qualms after a two-all draw against league leaders Gor Mahia on December 9.
Oduor has urged KPL referees to exercise utmost fairness while on duty. Oduor ridiculed the decision made by match officials who, according to him, awarded Gor a dubious penalty that secured them a point against Nzoia in the dying minutes of the hotly-contested encounter.
Oduor claimed that the referee’s initial hesitancy to point to the spot after blowing the whistle attested to his indecisiveness about the call he finally made — which salvaged their opponents from the jaws of defeat.
According to Oduor, only the centre referee appeared to have seen the need to award a penalty.
I agree with Oduor’s sentiments that referees ought to appreciate the fundamental fact that all teams are fighting tooth and nail either to nail
the title or secure a decent finish in the top-tier. It is disheartening for a team that has invested endless hours in practice and colossal resources in honouring fixtures to lose a match unjustly.
Oduor has also made a clarion call to the Football Kenya Federation to seek urgent ways of offsetting all referees’ dues.
This will be instrumental in safeguarding the integrity of the competition by discouraging temptations encountered by the referees in their line of duty.
Oduor believes officials are easily wooed by dark forces that lurk in the corridors of sports facilities if they are not paid as agreed.
Such complaints should not be laughed away given the consequences of dubious calls made by referees are far-reaching.
