OPINION: Coaches don’t hate bad refereeing; they just want it in their favour
If Premier Soccer League (PSL) coaches are truly sincere about raising the standard of officiating in our game, they must speak out against poor refereeing every single time it happens—even when it benefits their own teams.
Right now, the loudest complaints only come when a team is disadvantaged, exposing a deeper truth about the dugout: they want mistakes to be in their favour only.
This selective outrage makes coaches look less like defenders of sporting integrity and more like sore losers. Genuine reform requires a united, consistent voice from the dugout, regardless of the match result.
A recent example of this convenient outrage occurred during a highly contentious, goalless league draw between Scottland FC and MWOS FC on the 1st of August.
Match officials Quedisani Dirwai and Claris Simango failed to award a penalty to MWOS, an error so glaring that the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) subsequently slapped the pair with a six-match suspension.
Yet, Scottland FC coach Norman Mapeza conveniently ignored the refereeing blunder in his post-match comments. By remaining silent, Mapeza missed a crucial opportunity to show genuine concern for the state of the game.
Calling out the error would have proven that his standard for fair play outweighs a single point on the table. Instead, saving criticism only for games when errors hurt his team undermines his sincerity.
The hypocrisy of this approach became clear just one game later, when Scottland drew 1-1 with Dynamos. A visibly ‘concerned’ Mapeza openly egged journalists on, challenging the media to “expose poor officiating” and demanding to know what they were afraid of.
This is the same coach who kept quiet when a blatant mistake robbed an opponent to his benefit, only to openly mourn and demand a media crusade the moment he believed an error robbed his own team!
He is not alone. During Simba Bhora’s 2024 title-winning campaign, their coach Tonderai Ndiraya sensationally quipped that “no one can refuse three points because a referee erred”. This mentality is the root of the problem. It creates an uneven playing field where smaller, less-resourced sides complain regularly to no avail, while heavily resourced clubs only cry foul during the rare moments an error goes against them.
Granted, referees are not perfect. They are mortals operating with little to no technological assistance in real-time. Most of the evidence used to crucify officials comes from slow-motion video reviews—luxury tools that the referees do not have access to on the pitch.
Because errors are inevitable under these conditions, PSL must review its current policies. The league should amend its rules to allow room for constructive criticism, provided it is delivered in a civil, objective, and professional manner.
If a refereeing error is bad for football, it is bad for football. Every coach, not just the aggrieved, should call it out.
Coaches must realise that silence in victory exposes their fury in defeat as pure theatrical convenience. Inconsistency is the real problem at times, not the criticism itself.
To be heard as genuinely concerned stakeholders, it is time for coaches to speak in unison and condemn poor officiating, even when mistakes fall in their favour. True ambassadors of the game must champion justice on the pitch unconditionally, because a victory means nothing if it is built on a stolen whistle.