South African referees set to officiate France-Australia FIFA World Cup tie

Two highly rated Southern African referees will get their first taste of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when reigning World Champions France take on Australia in a Group D tie on Tuesday evening (21:00).

Victor Gomes, a veteran South African referee, will be in charge, assisted by his countryman Zakhele Siwela and Lesotho’s top assistant Souru Phatšoane. The fourth official will be top women’s football referee Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda.

The SA duo Gomes and Siwela, along with Phatšoane, previously worked together in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final between Senegal and Egypt earlier this year, as well as in the CAF Champions League.

Besides Gomes, there are other five Africans referees in Qatar; Janny Sikazwe (Zambia), Bakary Gassama (Gambia), Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Maguette N’Diaye (Senegal).

GOMES TO RETIRE?

The Qatar showpiece is most likely to be Gomes’ final World Cup as the well-known referee will soon be hanging his whistle, as per reports.

“Match officials designations. FIFA World Cup – Game 8, 22 November 2022, Al Janoub Stadium.France and Australia. Referee: Victor GOMES. AR 1: Zakhele SIWELA. AR 2: Souru. PHATSOANE. 4th: Salima MUKANSANGA,” FIFA confirmed on Monday.

The African continent is also represented by 10 assistant referees and two Video Assistant Referee (VAR) officials.

The champions, France will begin their title defence without Karim Benzema, who has withdrawn due to an injury, and it will be interesting to see how Didier Deschamps chooses to set his team’s front line.

Deschamps has already stated that he will not be calling anyone to replace Benzema.

France is attempting to become the first team to win the World Cup back-to-back, a feat not accomplished since Brazil in 1962.

They are undeniably one of the favourites in this year’s tournament, but they will need to be at the top of their game to have a chance.

They will be aware of the results of the afternoon games between Denmark and Tunisia by the time they play.

Surprisingly, the four-time champions have had the worst title defence in World Cup history. During the 2002 edition, they failed to score a single goal, losing two games and drawing one.

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Article compiled by Tlalane Phahla