Benni McCarthy slams referees for ruining South African football

Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy feels the match officials are ‘killing the game’ by not being impartial towards them, as they are playing against them and opposition.

“We are not just playing against the opposition but we are playing against the referees also‚” McCarthy told Timeslive.

Having already been charged by the league for comments made against Phillip Tinyane earlier in the season, McCarthy believes they are not respected by the officials.

“I am tired of being modest. I am tired of being afraid to say what I want to say because you have to have respect for the officials but they don’t respect coaches and our game,” McCarthy said.

“They ‘kill’ players‚ and now you must be modest and you can’t have an opinion.

“I think the referees must also take responsibility. We (coaches) get fired for not winning and why can referees do whatever they want and keep the luxury of their jobs,” McCarthy said.

A lot has been made about the league’s standard in recent times, and much of this is the doing of the officials.

“That is why our league is not at the level where it is supposed to be with the talent that we have – it is because of referees. They must also up their game‚ man‚ because coaches are asked to up their game.

"We have to come up with plans to beat Sundowns‚ you have to compete and be up there and the referees can be mediocre. For our football to grow and improve‚ we have to improve our referees also,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy’s outburst comes following City’s 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns in midweek, where referee Chris Harrison issued four yellow cards and none to the hosts for the entire game.