Confederation of African Football (CAF) has assigned senior referee Victor Miguel de Freitas Gomes for Vipers SC’s Champions League Second Leg against Tout Puissant (T.P) Mazembe.

The South African referee will be at the centre of proceedings at the Stade TP Mazembe, Lubumbashi on Sunday October 15, as the Venoms look to book a spot in the coveted group stages.

Victor Gomez is among the 8 referees from Africa going to officiate at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Gomes is a re-known match official who started refereeing in 2008, but became a CAF and FIFA referee in 2011.

He has officiated at some of the biggest stages in world football, including the May 2022 CAF Champions League final between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca.

No Nonsense Official

He was also in charge at the January 2022 Africa Cup of Nations final between Egypt and Senegal.

The 39 year-old is also among the 36 selected referees for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup, slated for December 2022 in Qatar.

He is famously remembered for rejecting a 300,000 Rand (an estimated UGX62MILLION) bribe in a match between Nigerian and Algerian clubs.

Referee Victor Gomez is remembered for offering Mohammed Salah his whistle and cards to officiate after the Egyptian complained about a decision.

For the Sunday game, Gomes will have fellow southern Africans; Zakhele Thusi Granville Siwela (South Africa) and Souru Phatsoane (Lesotho) as the first and second assistants respectively.

Jelly Alfred Chawani, who is also a South African native, will be the Fourth Official while Jean Medard Kossa will be the Match Commissioner.

Meanwhile, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Jean-Pierre Kakala Bungi will be the Covid-19 Officer.

The first leg ended in a barren stalemate at St Mary’s Stadium, Kitende last Sunday.

The aggregate victor will storm the group stages whereas the other team will join the CAF Confederation Cup.

ABOUT GOMES

Gomes was voted PSL Referee of the Season in 2012–13 and 2017–18 and has been an international referee since 2011. In 2018, he was hailed by the South African Football Association (SAFA) after he rejected and reported an attempted bribe of over R300 000 (About UGX62M). Gomes had been approached and offered the sum of money to fix a CAF Confederation Cup match between Nigerian side Plateau United and Algerian side USM Alger. He was again nominated for the PSL Referee of the Season award upon the conclusion of the domestic campaign. He officiated the 2019 and 2021 edition of Africa Cup of Nations.