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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
TENAX player, Wirimai ‘Malibho’ Mukudo, who hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons after refusing to be substituted twice as his team sought to make a change Castle Lager Premiership match against FC Platinum at Sakubva Stadium last Sunday, has apologised for his errant behaviour.
The hosts went on to lose the match 0-2 to the defending champions.
With his team trailing 0-1, Mukudo ignored the signal on the fourth match official’s raised electronic board signalling his substitution for Theophelous Musiteyi in the second half.
Musiteyi had to retreat to the bench as Mukudo spiritedly resisted being substituted.
Action then resumed with fans booing the player for his defiance.
A second attempt to substitute him was met with resistance again by Mukudo, forcing a supporter to briefly invade the pitch in protest over the player’s conduct.
Mukudo eventually continued with the game and another player had to be sacrificed for Musiteyi to come on.
Although he could not directly talk to the media citing professional restrictions both at Tenax C.S FC and Zimbabwe Prisons Correctional Services (ZPSC) being a serving prison warden-cum-football player, his club chairman, Stefani Masina acknowledged that the player unreservedly apologised for his behaviour.
“He came to us and apologised for his behaviour. We ended up feeling sorry for him because he said he did not know what led him to misbehave on that day.
“As a club, we have internal disciplinary processes that we take when such incidences occur and that also depends on a player’s reaction after such wrongdoings.
“Now that the player has acknowledged his misconduct and pledged never to repeat it, we will take that into consideration as we go for the final verdict. We have also engaged the services of our psychologist to work with him,” said Masina.
Online Reporter