By James Robert Kayindi
Ugandan referees have expressed concerns with the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) after they (FUFA) appointed Kenyan referees to officiate the Uganda Cup final replay between KCCA and SC villa yesterday afternoon at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
It’s should be noted that the local football governing body under its section of the FUFA referees Standing Committee (FRSC) released a list of referees to preside over the game, but hours later the same federation announced the appointment of foreign referees from Kenya to take charge of the same game.
The federation had named Alex Muhabi as the center Referee with Bugembe Hussein and Katenya Ronald as the first and second assistant referees respectively.
Ochom Joseph was the fourth official while Mawanda Haruna was to be the Match Assessor with Mugoye Darius as the Match Commissioner but the federation later confirmed referees appointed by the Kenyan Football Federation – Odhiambo Oliver Omondi (Center Referee), Otieno Andrew Juma (First Assistant) and Tony Mudayi Kidiya (Second Assistant) – who took charge of the game.
Now the local referees claim that was a sign of distrust in their work and also undermining their credibility as professionals. An anonymous source says that this means they can’t afford to handle such big games that have a lot of pressure and a lot at stake.
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