31 May 2021

Confederation of African Football (CAF) continues to show confidence on Botswana’s FIFA-accredited referee, Joshua Bondo’s abilities.

The continental body always assign him top matches between some of Africa’s top clubs.

The competitive nature of such contests often leads to expressions of high emotions when crucial refereeing decisions are taken.

One such example was the recent incident where he was attacked by Mc Algiers players after their team lost to Wydad Casablanca in the quarter-finals of a CAF champions’ league game.

The goal that separated the two was scored by Walid El Karti in the referee’s optional time and after Bondo blew the last whistle, frustrated Mc Algiers players protested that he did not stop the watch while Wydad Casablanca players were celebrating.

Another emotional game was the 2019/20 CAF Champions League match between Al-Ahly and Etoile sportive du Sahel in Rades where Bondo gave Achraf Essayad a red card in the 15th minute.

In 2017, Bondo was the middle-man in a 2018 World Cup qualifier crucial encounter between Senegal and Burkina Faso. After the game, Federation of Senegalese Football (FSF) president, Augustine Senghor, said Bondo should not be assigned any of their games.

Sunday Standard sports editor, Botlhale Koothopile, said the fact that Bondo was assigned big matches showed that his assessments were positive.

“I believe him getting tough assignments in the continent shows the trust CAF has in him. Why does he get them? One of the reasons is that he is not afraid to take decisions and stick to them,” he said.Koothopile said Bondo was not get swayed by the noise of players and their teams.

“Mind you, he mostly gets into trouble with losing teams and players, which is understandable because football is a game of emotions,” he said.ENDS