Asiagate: Marange cleared

Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Zifa vice-president Kenny Marange has finally been cleared of any wrongdoing in the Asiagate scandal exactly three years nine months after being suspended from taking part in all domestic football-related activities.The former top referee, one of the only three Zimbabwean match officials to handle Africa Cup of Nations matches in history, was suspended on September 9, 2011 and more than three years down the line the multiple award-winning referee on the domestic scene has been tossed from one office to another with no respite in sight.

However, in a letter from the country’s soccer mother body, signed by the chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze and copied to its president Cuthbert Dube, Marange was finally cleared to pursue his career in football.

“Zifa hereby clears you to resume your football career pursuant to the Zifa disciplinary committee’s prosecution teams’ recommendations. The association wishes you the best in your career,” read part of the letter from Zifa dated May 22, 2015.

The clearance letter, however, came after the Futuro instructor and match commissioner was last week summoned to Harare to appear before a three-member committee headed by Zifa lawyer Ralph Maganga.

The committee then recommended the clearance of the Mutare-based retired referee.

In an interview, a visibly relieved Marange told this newspaper that he had no hard feelings against anyone, including those that orchestrated his unjustified suspension.

Marange said he was looking forward to playing his part in the development of match officiating standards in the country.

“First of all, I think I must say I do not have any hard feelings against anyone about what happened in the past three years or so. If anything, I am happy that the disciplinary procedure has been allowed to take its course up to determination.

“I am also happy that they (Zifa) also wish me well in my future endeavours in football. My area of specialty is refereeing and it is a technical field that has been part of my life for a long time. I hope they will rope me in and allow me to play my part in improving the standards of match officiating.

“I really want to thank everyone who has been behind me in my quest to once again be actively involved in football. My family has been very supportive and I really want to thank them for being there when I needed a shoulder to lean on. Colleagues in the game have also been very supportive and I want to thanks them for their support,” said Marange.

Marange, who also officiated in two COSAFA Cup finals up to the final match of the tournament during his career as a referee, bemoaned the declining standards of refereeing in the country.

“My heart bleeds when I look at the standards of match officiating in the country at the moment, especially when I consider the fact that we no longer have referees that are being invited to handle regional or international competitions.

“I am ready to give input and work towards improving the state of match officiating in the country. I believe this is my calling and whatever happened in the past three years is now water under the bridge,” said Marange.

Contacted for comment on the recent clearance of Marange, current Zifa Referees’ Committee chairperson John Phiri said Marange’s clearance means that he was free to resume duties in the refereeing fraternity whenever appointed.

“Now that he has been cleared, he is free to resume his duties in the refereeing fraternity if appointed. No one will stop him. After all, this is sport and it is not like Marange killed someone. He is back and whenever appointed he is expected to execute his duties as we have always known him to,” he said.

Marange will obviously want to quickly forget the past three years, given the torrid time he went through as he sought to absolve himself of any wrongdoing.

Interestingly, even the Justice Ahmed Ebrahim-led committee, appointed by Zifa to look into Asiagate scandal allegations, made no findings against Marange and the three referees who were initially fingered in the Asiagate scam, but still the Mutare-based former Fifa panel referee was left in the cold for reasons best known to Zifa.