Moorosi Tsiane
A WISE man once said: “Today’s tears water tomorrow’s gardens,” and that was the same case recently when the Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) and league sponsors Econet Telecom Lesotho celebrated the outstanding performance of individuals in the just ended 2018/19 season.
Among the winners on the night was one of the most hated men in the local football fraternity, referee Osias Koto.
Koto beat his mates Lebalang Mokete and Thabo Nkhahle to walk away with M5000 cash for the second successive year.
In the past five seasons I don’t think there is any referee who has been loathed by supporters more than this gentleman, especially the fans of the bigger clubs.
He is not only despised by supporters of one team but supporters of different teams, of course for their own reasons.
For doubters, mentioning the name Koto among the fans of Matlama, Bantu or Lioli will confirm this.
That is how they feel about this highly rated referee who is also on the FIFA and CAF refereeing panel.
For me, Koto is the bravest referee this country has ever had after the likes of Mohau Sentšo, Rethusitsoe Lebaka and Moeti Mpopo.
This is one gentleman, who is never afraid to make decisions as long as he feels they are right.
I have never seen him succumbing to the pressure of supporters and I think that is one of the reasons why most of the times he officiates the biggest league matches.
Koto is not immune to mistakes because he is a human being but ever since I have watched him officiating, I have not seen him taking sides.
Victory Hall went abuzz on Friday night when Koto was announced the winner in his category and that could tell that many were not satisfied with the decision but that is how the referees committee saw it. I am glad that he got the recognition because he is one of the most hard working and no-nonsense referees in our league.
Congratulations to him and to all the winners on the night.
The other winner who deserves to be applauded is Matlama striker, Motebang Sera, who bagged the Golden Boot and Player of the Season Awards.
I remembered when Sera was still new at Matlama in the 2013/14 season. I never thought that I will one day see him as one of the greatest players to ever come out of our league.
But he worked hard and his hard work is finally paying off and numerous South African teams have shown interest in his services.
I wish other players could learn from his journey. He wasn’t a regular for Matlama from the onset but he kept working hard until he got a chance and now he is Matlama’s main man.
