Why SA referees have limited 2026 Fifa World Cup roles – Hlungwani
Victor Hlungwani explains why South African officials Abongile Tom and Zakhele Siwela have been limited to supporting roles at the world cup.
Two South African football officials, Abongile Tom and Zakhele Siwela, are currently officiating at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
However, according to Sedibeng Ster, their roles look slightly different than in the past.
Tom was recently on duty as an official during Portugal’s dominant 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan, which is one of several matches where he has been deployed as a fourth official since the tournament kicked off.
This new role has surprised many local football fans, as Tom was heavily relied upon as a main referee in previous tournaments. This is, however, the first senior world cup that Tom has officiated at.
Fifa’s trio referee system
Former Premier Soccer League referee and current analyst Victor Hlungwani explained to Sedibeng Ster Sport that the change comes down to strict Fifa selection criteria.
Fifa strongly favours what they call ‘trio referees’, a system where a main referee must be paired with two assistant referees from their own nation. Because only Tom and Siwela were selected from South Africa for this tournament, they fall into the ‘two-referee’ category instead.
Throughout the competition, Tom has served as the fourth official in four fixtures, including matches between the Netherlands and Sweden, Germany and Curaçao, and Portugal’s games against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uzbekistan. Siwela has accompanied him as a reserve assistant referee in all of these matches.
Why Tom could still referee a match
Hlungwani noted that if a third official from South Africa or a neighbouring country had been selected, the pair would have met the trio requirement to referee matches together from the middle of the pitch.
According to Hlungwani, Tom will now only take charge of a match as the main referee under specific circumstances.
“Tom could be called up to the middle if the home countries of the top referee trios advance further into the knockout stages, as officials are not allowed to referee matches involving their own nations. Ironically, if a referee’s home country is knocked out early, those officials are far more likely to stay and take charge of the final stages of the tournament,” clarified Hlungwani.
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