Tuesday was World Mental Health Day, a time to take care of our mental well-being.
It’s also a time to remember how sharp the word written or said can be.
I thought it was important to remind the Diski Nation about this.
The reactions to the MTN8 final made me realise how dangerous we’re starting to be with our opinions.
Orlando Pirates won 3-1 on penalties, but the hot topic was the performance of the referee, Abongile Tom.
It's #WafaWafa time!
— MTN8 Wafa Wafa! (@MTN8) October 7, 2023
Nibathulisile Mabhakaniya!
Ezimnyama ngenkani!
Congratulations to Amabhakaniya.
You showed Mzansi that you're the best of the best.#MTN8Final pic.twitter.com/tgLwizMrml
This after it was assumed he had been suspended because of his performance in the semifinal between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld.
Sundowns won 3-2, but Chiefs fans feel that they were robbed a penalty which could have changed the game.
There were other debates, importantly, Peter Shalulile’s goal, being offside or not.
Now THAT was a final that truly embodied the #WafaWafa spirit 🏆![CDATA[]]>🥵
— MTN8 Wafa Wafa! (@MTN8) October 11, 2023
Who’s coming for the Amabakhaniya throne in 2024? 👀![CDATA[]]>🏴☠️#MTN8 pic.twitter.com/uH9eiX8Ybu
There were reports he was suspended thereafter, hence the shock when he was announced as the man to take charge of the Wafa Wafa decider at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium.
They were surprised because many assumed that he had been ‘reinstated’ for such an important match.
Safa Cape Town HOD for referees and Western Cape Development Officer for referees, Zama Yokwana, has however explained that this was not the case.
Yokwana tells Diski Business: “People were misinformed and I can’t really tell by who.
“He [Tom] was not suspended. People were too quick to jump to conclusions and made up their own minds.”
He added that the review process for referees takes three days after the match, where the match commissioner gives the referee and assistant referees his feedback.
He explains: “This is important, the match commissioner is the one who would have been in the same environment as the referees and can therefore best analyse all the factors that come into play.
“That report is submitted to the national technical office who will review the report and recommendations made by the match commissioner.
“So there was nowhere where there was a suspension recommended.”
Abongile Tom is no stranger to big matches.
He has been flying the SA flag in top CAF competitions, including the Afcon and Chan.
Even when Bafana Bafana didn’t qualify, the man was there in the mix.
He was recently invited by Caf to attend an Afcon course alongside two other referees from SA, namely Zakhele Siwela and Akhona “She Refs” Makalima.
So he knows a thing or two about handling high profile matches.
The MTN8 final was scrappy. Sundowns were their usual selves, disrupting attacks with fouls.
Pirates, however, were prepared to match them and dished out their own fair share of tough tackles, which required a lot of game-management from the referee and his assistants, Kgara Mokoena and Jantjie Dlamini.
It wasn’t easy out there.
Sure referees make mistakes, but players and coaches are just as guilty for making mistakes as well.
I don’t think we would be talking about the referees if Shalulile had converted his header in front of an open net!
Would it be fair on Shalulile if fans criticised and insulted him the same way they did Tom and his assistants?
It’s unfortunate that I am not able to share the notes from the match commissioner of the day, Enock Molefe, because the review process has not been completed.
You all watched your favourite Monday reaction shows where some of the decisions were explained and analysed.
Here are some other facts; there were 29 fouls that were committed in the match, 17 by champions Pirates and 22 by Sundowns, which resulted in eight yellow cards shown.
This has been accepted by fans as part of the game, but it’s not the way the game is supposed to be played if we’re honest.
Football is a contact sport, not a combat sport.
We need to be careful about how we speak about referees, otherwise we will end up with nobody wanting to do this job.
At a time where the hood needs role models, we should have been and still celebrating his appointment to inspire this next generation currently at war with each other in the hood.
Things are so bad that they robbed the car delivering professional football prospects in Philippi, a stones throw from Crossroads.
We always preach for dignity of our foot legends, we need to practice what we preach by protecting this young man and all his colleagues.
Well done to you mdlali and your assistants.
You will be criticised, but you handled the match the way it was supposed to be handled.
Dlala mdlali, umhlaba ngowakho! (Do your thing player, the world is yours).
dailyvoice@inl.co.za