South Africa could face the prospect of having no referees at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament after what appears to have been a bad representation by Abongile Tom in the MTN8 final.
Tom was at the centre of controversy in the MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch FC last weekend, after allowing the former to take a quick free-kick, way ahead of where the incident took place.
The incident led to Pirates making it 2-1 in added time, before adding a third for a 3-1 full-time score.
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Although there are already suggestions the 32-year-old could face some sort of punishment once the incident is reviewed by the SAFA referees review committee, his glaring error could affect the country's representation in next year's AFCON finals.
Tom was South Africa's sole representative in this year's showpiece held in Ivory Coast, out of 68 match officials, with Akhona Makalima the only other SA referee, although as one of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials.
Mzansi had no other representation in the assistant referees at the biennial continental competition, out of the 30 chosen to officiate in Ivory Coast.
However, former PSL and FIFA referee Jerome Damon believes SA referees are still "sought after" for continental club tournaments.
"We must not shy away from the fact that we're still a sought-after brand in CAF competitions right through the last rounds. We've just had two match officials in the CAF Super Cup at VAR," Damon said on 947's MSW.
"We've had referees in the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last CAF competition and also in the continental AFCON and also at World Cups.
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"We're still a sought-after brand, generally speaking. In any league, there are moments when we're not sought-after [when] there are certain incidents. [But] holistically, we've come a long way in terms of refereeing in South Africa and we've made good strides in terms of the way we train, monitor, the way in which we deal with challenges on the field that are faced by match officials," added Damon.
Tom has been appointed to officiate an AFCON qualifier between Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone on Friday in Ivory Coast.