South African referee Victor Gomes has announced his retirement from the beautiful game after his participation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Gomes, who celebrated his 40th birthday on 15 December, has confirmed he is hanging up the whistle when speaking to Robert Marawa on Monday.
“The dream started when I was only a child. Now that I’ve achieved the World Cup I’m grateful and ready to spend time with my family. The 8 hour flight was enough for me to make the decision to retire. We discussed this with my wife,” he said on Marawa Sports Worldwide.
“I believe I’ve been better than those who have come before me and I want others to come and also do better than me. Football is in my blood, I will leave the field but I will still contribute towards lifting the SA’s flag high.”
Gomes represented South Africa at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he was in charge of two group stage games, namely France 4-1 win over Australia and Spain’s 2-1 defeat to Japan.
He was also allocated as the fourth official in Argentina’s quarter-final win on penalties against Netherlands.
The 39-year-old made his Premier League Soccer debut in 2008. He was voted PSL Referee of the Season in 2012/13 and 2017/18 and has been an international referee since 2011.
His last local game was the Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in October.
