BLACK Leopards boss David Thidiela, who has allegedly brought the South African Football Association (Safa) into disrepute, will learn his fate on Friday.
This because he has been summoned before a disciplinary hearing following his rant on a radio station about the association’s practises.
During an interview last month, the soccer boss allegedly complained about the poor standard of refereeing in the National First Division (NFD), in which Leopards competes.
Thidiela’s tirade centred around the appointment of a certain referee for Lidoda Duvha’s last first-round match against the Royal Eagles on 17 December.
This was after the club had allegedly sent a letter of complaint to Safa, via the Premier Soccer League (PSL), about the same official’s poor handling of the side’s game against Mbombela United on 19 November.
Leopards beat Eagles 2-1 and drew 2-2 with Mbombela.
The outburst left a bitter taste in the mouth of Safa CEO Dennis Mumble, who warned that Thidiela could face a ban if found guilty.
“Thidiela wants to pick which referees officiate his matches,” Mumble told our sister paper Daily Sun.
“That’s not going to happen. He said nasty things about Safa.”
But sources close to Thidiela claimed the soccer boss was not losing any sleep over the hearing.
“He has had enough of bad refereeing in the NFD,” the source said.
“Let’s face it, what Thidiela has done is not wrong because his concerns are genuine.
“Bad refereeing in the lower divisions has been an on-going issue for many seasons, but nothing has been done to curb this scourge.”
