Luanda Villa head coach Leonard Saleh has raised concerns about the rising issues with officiating in the National Super League (NSL), urging match officials to improve their performance.Over the weekend, three NSL matches sparked debate due to inconsistencies in officiating that significantly impacted the outcomes.In Embu, 3K FC expressed frustration after three goals were disallowed by the assistant referee in their 1-0 loss to Kibera Black Stars at Moi Stadium.3K FC fans attacked the referee after their 1-0 loss to Kibera Black Stars in Embu today, frustrated by having three goals disallowed for offside during the match. #FootballKE pic.twitter.com/DJMyeKkCoO— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) January 12, 2025 The controversial decisions handed 3K FC their first home defeat and caused them to drop out of the top ten since their promotion.In a separate FKF Division One match between Compel and GFE 105, tensions boiled over as the referee had to flee from angry fans at the final whistle due to perceived poor decisions.##NAJAVA_MECA_8624504##Meanwhile, in Luanda, Nairobi United’s late second-half goal handed Villa their first home defeat in over a year.Despite acknowledging that his team was outplayed by their opponents, Saleh believes officiating errors influenced the game’s result.“I usually don’t like criticizing referees, but I am forced to. We were denied a penalty, and the second goal came from a refereeing mistake,” lamented the former KCB tactician.Meet the Kenyan camera crew that filmed the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona Spanish Super Cup finalFrank Ouya opened the scoring for Nairobi in the third minute, catching Villa’s defense off-guard. Luanda Villa equalized in the 16th minute through George Odiwuor, but Gideon Otieno sealed United’s victory with an 84th-minute strike.Saleh has also called for patience from fans as he works to build a competitive team.Following the 2-1 defeat to Nairobi United at Mumboha Grounds, Saleh emphasized the need for adjustments to meet the demands of the league.“Everybody has seen that there is work to do for all of us. We need to move quickly so that Luanda Villa’s quality can match the challenges ahead,” Saleh stated.New dates for the Mozzart Bet Cup due to the CHAN scheduleSaleh, who took over as head coach last Monday, expressed optimism about the team’s future, promising improvements in the upcoming fixtures.“I want to use this time to correct the mistakes we made so that we are in good shape when we face Naivas FC on Saturday,” he added.After the weekend’s loss, Nairobi United moved to second place in the NSL standings with 28 points, while Luanda Villa remained in seventh place with 22 points.
