'This is not acceptable anymore!' Furious former Kaizer Chiefs coach demands Safa & PSL action after consistent poor officiating

Cape Town Spurs coach Ernst Middendorp is infuriated by poor officiating witnessed in South African football.

The Urban Warriors coach was left fuming after a 1-1 draw with Upington City in the second tier, a game he strongly feels his team could have won.

The German tactician insists there is a need for the respective authorities to act before things get out of hand.

This season, there have been major questions that have been raised regarding the level of officiating in the country.

The first one was between SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 quarter-final where Gavin Hunt felt his team deserved a penalty in the 3-1 loss.

Another major incident was in the Premier Soccer League outing between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs. The latter felt the game was not officiated fairly.

In the MTN8 final, the officials were accused of making decisions that favoured Pirates who went on to defend their crown.

It explains why Middendorp insists PSL and Safa should act.

"What can be the reason for it [poor officiating]? Are they overloaded? Are they overloaded with too much work? Are they overloaded outside? Whatever it is, this is not acceptable anymore," the former Chiefs coach said in a video posted by the club's media team.

"We had it in the [Durban] City FC game. We had it during the Milford game, and we had it here [Upington City]. Now, even at our home games. I can accept it when it is in away games. But in home games, we see irritation on the highest level.

"I am telling you again that we had managers and CEOs in the NFD who have already been caught. They were arrested, and they still are in the service of clubs in the NFD. This is not right," Middendorp continued.

"We worked seven days to prepare our game, and we do it in every game. We are asking our players to do the right thing."

The 65-year-old has now demanded PSL and Safa to investigate the inconsistent officiating which is frustrating teams.

"The clubs are spending a huge amount of money, and then you have games like this? The other team players laugh about it. The referees at this moment, how they are acting, and how they are running around on the stage. This is not acceptable," Middendorp continued.

"This must be investigated immediately if you want to have a fair development or fair progress in the NFD. I hope you hear it and do something. It doesn’t matter whether it’s PSL or SAFA, but do something. If you want to take me out for the rest of the season, do it."

There have been calls from stakeholders for the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee, VAR, to help reduce referees' mistakes.

The Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, in conjunction with Safa, has been working on the technology, and teams hope it can be introduced in the country soon.