The Sunday News
Sports Reporter
Ever so often, sons of celebrated athletes speak about their fathers or mothers. Sadly, most of the time these conversations happen only after the said parent has passed on. This week, Sunday Life spoke to one such son!
Though in strict terms, retired referee Thomas Khumalo was no athlete or, in his case, a footballer. But to Rodwell Khumalo and his siblings, he was just that: his celebrity man in black!
To the rest of the world, he was a top referee, frequently maligned by all sections of the game for his no nonsense handling of matches.
Rodwell speaks about his and the rest of the family’s experiences when Thomas was at his peak, owning the field on match day:
We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of being sons to a top local and international referee.
Early on in our childhood probably from when I was about 5 and my brother just 18 months younger, our dad took us to most local matches that he officiated though I must say it was very difficult at times. We would have to sit with an adopted uncle or one of dad’s friends and quite often have to suffer through insults and all forms of vulgar language. Most of the time, they were very few enjoyable comments passed by fans from either sides playing on the day about the calls made by our dad.
I remember my mother joining us for one particular match at Barbourfields Stadium between Caps United and Highlanders.
Such big matches were usually the worst and when the insults began, it did not go down well with my mother who swore never to attend another game that her beloved husband officiated in and she stuck to her decision for most of my dad’s career.
For us though, it gave us endless weekends of travel and watching games that we would later relate to our friends at school and in our neighbourhood in Gwabalanda where we grew up.
The experience was second to none! It was during the epic years when Highlanders and Amazulu dominated the local football scene and participated in the Caf Champions League games that saw Egyptian champions, Al Ahly and other African clubs such as Zamalek gracing our very own Barbourfields Stadium. These were experiences any young, football crazy lad would cherish for life.
It was never easy to be popular as a referee and we often experienced mixed emotions from fans of different clubs, but fortunately he enjoyed officiating during the glory days of Highlanders, Zimbabwe Saints and Amazulu and never quite seemed to mind the endless insults.
Referees were and are never celebrated but the no nonsense and strict nature of refereeing that my dad was renowned for was unique as were his often dramatic gestures and total control of game situations that were a marvel to witness. I am positive that fans and players alike enjoyed this school teacher’s approach to officiating and he would discipline players that ignored the rules and regulations of the game.
The notoriety he enjoyed along with the late Sam Chirape, who also adopted a bullish approach to managing tense situations and having to make tough calls as was and still is the norm when refereeing tense encounters was life changing.
These were experiences that sometimes dictated the well being of households as well as public peace before and after games.
These were the memories that have shaped my role as a coach at schoolboy level to add to my own playing experiences having played at the Nash U-19 Coca-Cola tournament alongside players like Onesimo Bhasera, Peter and Patrick Mubaiwa in 2002 all of went on to have long pro careers locally and in South Africa.
My dedication and love for the game was and still is bound by experiences acquired while watching my father being part of what was the game of the people and to this day, his contributions will be remembered for years to come by both his family and football at large.
Fortunately for me, Thomas is still alive and able to offer me a pinch of advice here and there.
