A process is in place for football districts that feel the calls made by referees and match officials may have been detrimental to their progress in a game or a tournament.
This is what Fiji Football Association chief executive Mohammed Yusuf had to say in response to concerns raised by some districts.
“We got a process in place, we had three assessors, assessing each performance, each referee’s performance then they’ll compile a report,” Yusuf explained.
“Those referees we found not up to standard and not enforcing the rules of the game have been stood down.”
This proved to be the case recently in the 2025 BiC Fiji FACT, when a referee and an assistant referee were stood down after concerns were raised after the first day of the tournament.
“So we stood down one referee, one linesman from the panel because of their failure to officiate and make decisions correctly,” he said.
“This process is ongoing as we educate the referees.”
During the first three days of competition, this newspaper observed team officials walk up to referees and linesmen with their concerns, to which some team officials were not given a response as the match officials walked off to their allocated rooms under the grandstand.
Such events were notable in the final group match stages, since every team needed a win to push themselves through to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the semi-finals will take place this Saturday at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
Fixtures: 2pm: Lautoka v Labasa. 4.30pm: Suva v Rewa.
