THE SA Football Association head of referees, Peter Sejake, has heaped praise on reliable refs, Victor Hlungwani and Daniel Bennett, after they were called up to represent Mzansi in international matches.
Hlungwani and Bennett, both Premier Soccer League (PSL) referees, will officiate at the 2017 Under-17 championship qualifiers and Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) respectively.
The duo, along with Zakhela Siwela and Mothibidi Khumalo, are expected to depart for Tunis tomorrow, where they will take control of the 2017 Afcon qualifier that pits Tunisia against Liberia at the Monastir Stadium on Sunday.
Bennett will be the middleman while Hlungwani will be a reserve referee. Siwela and Khumalo will act as linesmen.
The match will have a new commissioner from Congo, Jean Medard Kossa, who replaces Nigerian official Paul Ekong Bassey.
Hlungwani will then officiate in the U-17 tie between Cameroon and Sudan set for Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde on 30 September. He will travel to Cameroon with Songezo Xalakhe and Thembisile Windvoel as his assistants, while Kulasande Qongqo will be the reserve referee.
Sejake said the football controlling body in Africa, Caf, has full confidence in South African referees.
Siwela told SunSport he was honoured to have been considered for such big events in Africa. He has also been invited to the Fifa seminar in Cairo, Egypt, on 21 September, along with Bennett, Victor Gomes and Hlungwani.
He said: “Football laws change. It is important to be invited to such seminars, where we can catch up on the laws of the game.”
Sejake described the invitations as a “big achievement” for the organisation.
- Meanwhile, Safa’s Chief Medical Officer, Thulani Ngwenya, is among top medical officials invited to Caf’s fifth Medical Congress in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from 14-16 October .
- SunSport understands that Xalakhe has failed the referees’ fitness tests and is now only used as an assistant. Indications are that he is the only one who failed to pass the tests, conducted before the season starts.
