The level of officiating, particularly in the Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, is not pleasing to say the least.
I believe that this derby, despite it being a fixture of a very high magnitude, is not receiving the respect it deserves. I am saying such in reference to what has came to my knowledge regarding the Egyptian derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek; it appears that whenever those two Egyptian giants clash, a foreign referee from as far as Europe is often appointed to officiate such a fixture.
This indicates that the Egyptian FA has come to realize that due to the rivalry and animosity, which is apparent whenever those two sides meet, a local referee can never be completely objective when handling a fixture of such a caliber; due to the fear of criticism, resentments and threats by the aggravated (provoked) fans who are in most occasions hardly ever impressed by the officiating.
On 27 November 2011, the Zimbabwean Football Association also saw the need to appoint a foreign official in a crucial cup final between Dynamos FC and Motor Action FC and, as such, South African referee Mr Daniel Bennett along with his assistants Zakhele Siwela and Sandile Bilikane successfully handled an official match (Mbada Cup final) outside the South African borders, and they were subsequently showered with praise from the ZiFA president Mr. Cuthbert Dube – praising them for a match which ended without controversy.
The two domestic cup finals (MTN 8 final and TKO final 2014), which have already been played in the PSL this season, were very different. In the first final (the 2014 MTN 8 final), the referee was quite hostile and refrained from making decisions which could influence the atmosphere of the match, whereas the second final (2014 TKO final) was very open and the referee was not afraid of making decisions which might be decisive, hence we witnessed three penalties being awarded.
The difference being that one final included the big teams, while the other final was composed with the so-called “small teams” with a lesser following.
Despite these two references that I have made in favour of a foreign referee, I am fully aware of the fact that the football mother body FIFA, requires the local referees to be preferred in domestic league matches in order to demonstrate that the league is entrusted with objectivity as a matter of the standards required for professionalism.
I do hereby emphasize that the appointment of a foreign official would not render the league less professional, neither would it undermine the integrity of the local referees, as such measures are necessary to redeem them from the above mentioned three pillars (criticism, resentment and threats) and lastly, I believe that a foreign referee would provide the utmost objectivity without "fear or favour".