Former Springbok head coach Jake White has questioned the move to appoint a South African referee for this week's Super Rugby final.
Jaco Peyper will be the referee for the meeting between the Lions and Crusaders at Ellis Park, which has caused controversy in some quarters.
Last season New Zealander Glen Jackson was in the middle for the Hurricanes versus Lions final with many believing neutral is the way to go.
White, writing in his column for All Out Rugby, said: "In a sport where coaches get hired and fired on results, and television rights are in the millions of dollars, how do we not have a neutral referee in these games?"
"I'm not saying Peyper or any other referee is cheating, but the competition opens itself up to criticism by appointing officials with national ties to one of the teams. If Peyper makes any decision against the home team, he's vilified, and when he blows in favour of the home team, people ask questions.
"I look at Super Rugby and I ask why we don't have money to fly an Australian referee to South Africa for the semi-finals. The Hurricanes went from 22-3 up to losing the semi-final on a massive yellow-card decision. When you look at that decision in the context of a competition where a lot of players weren't yellow-carded for incidents that were worse than that, I can see how that's a bitter pill for the Kiwis to swallow, and how Peyper's nationality is an easy target."
He added: "Do you think New Zealand will ever play in a World Cup final with a Kiwi ref? If the answer is no, then how can we accept it in Super Rugby?"
Looking ahead to the game, White sees the home team coming out on top in Johannesburg this weekend.
"The Lions will win the Super Rugby final. They're at home, the Crusaders have had to fly to Johannesburg and captain Kieran Read is carrying an injury," he concluded.
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