As the 2020 edition of the most important football league of Solomon Islands, the Telekom S-League, is being livestreamed in social media, the fans are being able to have deep analysis from the games – watching every movement of the league so far.
Not only the players and coaches are highlighted, but as well the referees. Recently, a number of Solomon Islands’ football supporters raised their concerns about level of refereeing in some of the recent matches of the national league. The fans argue many harsh tackles went unnoticed by the referees, including some potential red card offenses that in some cases were not even awarded as free kicks.
According to some fans, possible assaults in the pitch also went unnoticed by the refs – something that certainly is not good for the development of the game. The arguments of the fans were most concentrated on restraining violence in the game and keep the players’ nerves under control.
It is also very important to remember that the referees are humans – and there is no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in Oceania at the moment – so it is expected to make mistakes. However, the complaining of the certain member of the community is understandable and correct, it is always important to pursue a better level in all areas of the game.
Some fans raised their voices to remember football has the same rules it does not matter where it is played and urged the referees to follow the same criteria, the same instructions that we have at top-level football as these fans observe certain happenings in the national league so far were not acceptable if happened in other countries.
Certainly, the governing football body in Solomon Islands can be effective in this area; making new courses to update their referee and assistants often can be valuable for them and, of course, to attend the calls of the fans that expect to see a better refeering level in the next matches of the Telekom S-League.
Oceania Football Center 