SAFA referee Skhumbuzo Gasa, who was the victim of a missile-throwing incident in September, was honored in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Gasa received the Special Award at the prestigious KZN Sport Awards held at the ICC on Saturday night. This recognition comes after his successful season, which included being named the PSL Referee of the Season and officiating the Nedbank Cup final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

However, Gasa’s season was marred by the incident during the Chiefs and Sundowns match at FNB Stadium on 28 September.

Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi was furious with the referee’s decisions, particularly the controversial second goal for Sundowns. Lucas Ribeiro Costa, who scored the equalizer to cancel out Ranga Chivaviro’s goal, appeared to be offside in the build-up goal scored by Iqraam Rayners.

Chiefs, who dominated the match, believed they had scored a late equalizer, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Mosa Lebusa. Gasa also ordered the Chiefs technical team to stop using their iPad to review incidents, as VAR is not currently used in the PSL.

As a result of the spectator misconduct, Chiefs have been fined R150,000 by the PSL. The club was found guilty of fans throwing missiles onto the field and at Gasa. This fine includes a previous suspended fine of R150,000 from last season.

Gasa, who made his PSL debut in August 2020, was officiating the Motsepe Foundation Championship match between Cape Town Spurs and Black Leopards at Athlone Stadium on Sunday.