Rwanda FA Suspends Referee For Poor Officiating

The Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) has suspended Rwanda Premier League referee Umutoni Aline for one month due to poor officiating.

Aline has been suspended for two decisions that she made in Gicumbi FC’s 1-0 loss to Gasogi United during a league match played on 27th November 2019 at Stade Regional Nyamirambo.

Gicumbi lodged a complaint stating that they were denied “two clear scoring opportunities”, in what they perceived ‘blatant refereeing mistakes’ that they said deprived them of a win.

FERWAFA referee commission, which sat to deliberate on the decisions, noted inconsistency and lack of authority in officiating hence indirectly influencing the result of the match.

“The federation has suspended female centre referee Umutoni Aline for a period of one month without officiating league matches,” reads a statement made by FERWAFA.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “The decision was taken by Referees Commission in its meeting held on 27 November 2019 following incorrect decisions she took which influenced the match result. The one-month suspension took effect from 28/11/2019.”   [/perfectpullquote]

Gicumbi currently sits at the bottom of the 16-teams log with five points after 12 round of matches while Gasogi are at position nine with a total of 17 points.

Meanwhile, in an effort aimed at improving checks and balances, the FERWAFA referees commission is expected to come up with a code of regulation to act as a guideline in dealing with poor officiating and introduce a score sheet to aid in the evaluation of referees and match commissioners performances.