South African referee Victor Gomes' star on the rise

Victor Gomes has been included in the refereeing panel for this month’s African Nations Championship in Morocco in a clear indication that his star is on the rise in continental competitions.

It is the third major tournament he is attending and with potentially 10 years still left on the FIFA panel‚ Gomes has a chance to move up the ladder to World Cup level.

The 35-year-old from Johannesburg also officiated at the CHAN-2014 tournament in South Africa and was on the panel for the African Nations Cup in Gabon this time last year.

He is the only South African picked by the Confederation of African Football in the officiating team for the tournament in Morocco‚ which starts on Friday January 13.

Gomes‚ who has been without controversy in his PSL career‚ will be leaving on Saturday for North Africa‚ at the conclusion of the Premier Soccer League’s refereeing workshop which started in Pretoria on Tuesday.

He is one of five South Africans who are FIFA accredited referees for 2018.

Daniel Bennett‚ Chris Harrison‚ Victor Hlungwani and Thando Ndzandzeka are the others.

Bennett‚ who has also been to several past CAF tournaments‚ has dropped down the list of CAF top officials after some controversial performances in their last 12 months while the other three have not had enough international exposure.