Cape Town Spurs Pleads to Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa to Professionalise Refereeing in South Africa

• Cape Town Spurs has made a plea to the minster for sports Nathi Mthethwa to fast-track the professionalisation of referees in South Africa
• The National First Division team expressed its displeasure at the state of refereeing in local football
• The statement stopped just short of saying that bribery of referees was taking place in the lower levels of the country's biggest sport, but definitely hinted at it

Cape Town Spurs has called on sports minister Nathi Mthethwa to fast-track the professionalisation of football referees in South Africa.

The National First Division team is out of contention for a play-off spot nor are they involved in a relegation dogfight in 11th place on the GladAfrica Championship.

According to HeraldLIVE, Spurs released a statement imploring Mthethwa to assist referees modernise as soon as was possible. This is in part due to many years of poor officiating in the lower divisions of South African football away from the cameras that prioritise the Premier Soccer League.

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The statement inferred that low salaries for match officials and other less-than-ideal working conditions made them vulnerable to corrupt activities like bribery and match-fixing.

The club said:

“One cannot expect officials to be on a match-to-match 'pay-as-you-play' basis without a fixed monthly income that they can count on month after month."

“The current status is an ideal breeding ground for unscrupulous behaviour and low quality officiating. It could be that accepting all sorts of favours is the only way for some to feed their families and stay afloat."

VAR hits South Africa shores but not in the Premier Soccer League

Cape Town City has lodged an official protest against plans to reschedule their disputed fixture with Kaizer Chiefs.

History will be made this weekend in South African football.

As reported by Sports Brief, the CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup quarterfinal second leg matches between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates against Petro de Luanda and Simba FC respectively will see the first use of the Video Assistant Referee in a country boasting the richest league on the African continent.

With that in mind, it raises a question that has been asked before: why is there no VAR being used in the Premier Soccer League' various televised competitions?