Questions were raised following last Sunday?s Premier Division clash at St.John?s Field between Dandy Town and Southampton Rangers as to why an ?inexperienced? referee assistant was appointed to a crunch match with league title implications.

Female referee assistant Cassandra Trott ? a first-year trainee ? officiated in last Sunday?s contest at St.John?s Field where Rangers put Town?s league celebrations on hold. Trott found herself immersed in controversy after waving off a Rohaan Simons? 36 minute effort, judging the ball had not crossed the line.

While questions abound as to Trott?s appointment, Bermuda Referee Association (BRA) president Richard Knight yesterday pointed the finger directly at Bermuda Football Association (BFA).

He said: ?Everybody looks at it and asks why is the association (BRA) appointing unqualified people. But it?s not us. . . it?s the BFA. We definitely wouldn?t have put an inexperienced official in a pressure situation like that. They (BFA) say they want to have things run this way and we aren?t supposed to have any input.?

Knight contends that a dispute has been ?ongoing? over the BFA being solely responsible for appointing officials for domestic matches.

?The BRA has a problem with the BFA appointing referees on their own. They take it upon themselves to appoint referees and we have a problem with that,? he argued. ?A lot of times you have the same situation like we had on Sunday (at St.John?s) where you had an individual who was not experienced in a pressure game. And it looks bad on the BRA.?

He added: ? We have qualified people on the association (BRA) who want to know why was this person appointed to a game when we had sufficient people within our ranks. The girl (Trott) has a lot of interests in the game and really wants to become a referee, but I think when you force people into positions like that they are going to get discouraged. They are going to take so much flak early that they are just going to give up.?

When contacted over the matter, BFA general secretary David Sabir declined to get into any dialogue regarding referee appointments with the BRA unless they took up the issue directly with the governing body. BFA referee chairman Aldwyn Savery is currently off Island.

?I am not saying that people are perfect. But when you get down to a situation like the second-half or even the last third of the season you must make it a point to ensure everyone is in place. . . that?s a part of your responsibility,? added Knight.

?Before it gets down to situations like we had on Sunday the governing body must take charge so that when something does happen we can more or less stand up for these people. It?s good to see the BFA recruiting new people, but they (BFA) are pushing them along too fast. They think they are doing them (recruits) some good but all they?re going to do is discourage them.?

A leading match official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated: ?That could have led to a real ugly scene,? in reference to last Sunday?s match which Rangers won 2-1.

?You can?t have people out there ? with little experience ? in big matches like that. Fortunately things didn?t get nasty. . . but the risks were there.?

Meanwhile, BFA yesterday announced the date for the anxiously anticipated Dandy Town versus Somerset Eagles Premier Division league replay. This match ? twice abandoned ? will ultimately decide which residence the league championship will take up this summer.

Town ? needing a win to pip Cougars for the title ? take on Eagles in the second match of a double header at BAA Field next Wednesday night, beginning at 9 p.m.

In a match with little significance to either team, Southampton Rangers will take on North Village at 7 p.m. in the first match.