Ex-PSL referee writes to IFAB regarding ‘muti’ use in local football

Hlungwani says he had considered this in the past but the incidents had not really escalated to teams getting into altercations.

Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) referee Victor Hlungwani has confirmed writing to IFAB over concerns regarding the alleged use of black magic in local football.

IFAB are the independent guardians of the football rules of association football.

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Speaking to SABC Sport, Hlungwani said the decision to write to IFAB followed the recent incident that took place during the Soweto Derby clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, where tensions flared prior to kick-off over accusations of muti use.

“FIFA invites anyone to write to them, especially regarding law changes which are implemented every year. I’ve decided to take advantage of that after seeing something that is wrong in our game where there is confrontation over the smearing of muti or chemical engineering or black magic,” said Hlungwani.

“The countries which wrote this book are English speaking (Scotland, England, Ireland and Whales; those are the nations that introduced the laws of the game in 1863.

“After seeing the confrontation inside the field of play, I felt the need to write to them, proposing that if you smear or perform black magic on the field of play, it should also be red carded.”

Hlungwani added that he had considered this in the past but the incidents had not really escalated to teams getting into altercations.

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“Remember when we talk of law nr.8 – the kick off, that the ball must be kicked forward, but now the ball can be kicked backwards. That’s because of what happened at WITS. So, South Africa has very much influenced the changes to the laws of the game, and with that in mind we felt that we should alert FIFA about this,” concluded Hlungwani.