Coach slams abuse of ref

Old Bens coach Mike Lee leapt to the defence of referee Gianni Infanti, who was in charge of their 1-0 derby win against Benoni Northerns in the Eastern Super League Cup at Currin Park on August 19.

Infanti lost his cool in the second half when he reacted to something Northerns winger, Shameeg Watkins, said after the midfielder was sent-off for a handball.

It wasn’t a pretty victory for Lee’s charges, but both teams had their ugly moments on the scorched yet well-manicured Currin Park field that saw the 22 men give the fans, who packed the stands to capacity, football worth their money.

It was a match worth watching, with entertainment from the first whistle to the last. But the abuse meted out to Infanti and his assistants, Rob Lambert and Jerry Jumbe, by the players, officials, and fans was ugly.

None of the abusers cared that there were Old Bens’ junior players, who had earlier walked their seniors onto the field, watching the match.

The players shoved and insulted each other and exchanged harsh words with the referee while officials from both teams trotted down the touchline in frustration.

This happened while the youngsters sat on the fence barricading the ground watching a derby that they, one day, would contest.

Infanti didn’t help himself either.

After giving Watkins his marching orders for a deliberate handball in the Northerns penalty area, the player murmured something. In frustration, he followed Watkins and then hit him with the card on the head.

Lee said Watkins deserved the red card but lambasted the incident’s aftermath.

“The players need to control themselves. In this league, the referees are unprotected. I think he felt a bit intimidated. He crossed the line, but it was all in the heat of the moment. He didn’t do anything malicious,” said Lee.

There were moments in the game when the tackles flew in, and the players manhandled each other, but the ref was lenient, probably to keep the tie balanced.

“The guys need to control themselves because the referees have got 22 guys, coaches and full stands to fight against. He’s one of the best in this league. I thought he held the game together for the most part pretty well. His decisions were spot-on,” Lee said.

Northerns captain Cole Simpson, who saved a penalty in the second half and was brilliant between the sticks, hailed Infanti for handling the game well, saying he was in a tough position.

“That moment with the red card was a bit excessive. We never want a referee to put himself in that situation.

“His performance was okay. It’s always tough being the guy everyone shouts at. The hype does get to the guys, but it is all part of the game,” said Simpson.

The match ended 1-0 to Old Bens, who advanced to the semi-finals thanks to Spiros Augoustis’ first-half goal.

The Eastern Local Football Association chairperson, Bruce King, told the Benoni City Times the organisation did not take the abuse of referees lightly, adding that the offenders (clubs and players) were disciplined and fined.

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