adminTedious Manyepo : Sports Reporter
THE disciplinary hearing that was supposed to be held yesterday in which league champions Chicken Inn are being accused of bringing the game into disrepute did not take place after the Bulawayo side asked to be excused. The hearing has now been rescheduled for September 9. Accusations against Chicken Inn arose from their home match against log leaders FC Platinum on July 23 in which the champions are alleged to have threatened referee Thomas Massa before refusing to pay the officials their match fees. Chicken Inn lost the match 1-0 but the club was not happy with the officiating on the day as they accused the Midlands referee of being biased against their team. The referee wrote a letter to the PSL after the match alleging that Chicken Inn secretary-general Tavengwa Hara, coach Rahman Gumbo and striker Obadiah Tarumbwa had verbally abused him.
According to PSL Regulations it is an offence on the part of the club if;
“Its official, players, servants or duly authorised (express or implied) representatives assault, threaten, intimidate, coerce, interfere, mislead or insult a match official of the league, public, press or media or any other person before, during or after the match” Yet Chicken are fuming over the allegations being levelled against them which they have since described as unlawful. The Gamecocks wrote to ZIFA after the match complaining that Massa had been appointed by the PSL illegally to preside over the match in question and the fact that he hails from the Midlands, where FC Platinum also come from, made the appointment questionable.
The champions argue that they cannot be tried by the PSL who are also part of the system that “illegally appointed Massa.”
“As Chicken Inn Football Club we feel that it is unfair for the PSL to summon us before the Disciplinary Committee while the outcome of the investigations being carried on the referee of the day Thomas Massa are yet to be completed by ZIFA.54
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