Damning reports nail Gamecocks

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
CHICKEN INN tried to coerce referee Munyaradzi Majoni to change his decision to award Yadah Stars a penalty and, instead, give the Harare side a free-kick just outside the penalty area in their ill-fated Chibuku Super Cup first round tie at Ascot in Gweru. Damning reports by the referee and the match commissioner obtained by The Herald also serve as an indictment on the discipline of seasoned coach Rahman Gumbo and his charges.

The Gamecocks were found guilty of causing the abandonment of their first round tie against Yadah Stars at Ascot which was called off three minutes from time with the sides still goalless. The Premier Soccer League’s ad-hoc committee awarded the match to Yadah on a 3-0 scoreline, fined Chicken Inn $2 000 and also barred the Bulawayo outfit from competing in next year’s Chibuku Super Cup.

But Chicken Inn secretary-general Tawengwa Hara was left crying foul and claimed the PSL had given his club a raw deal with their ruling with the former ZIFA board member claiming that they never prevented Yadah from taking the penalty, which incidentally formed the dispute upon which the game came to its premature end. The Herald has, however, established that referee Munyaradzi Majoni decided to call off the game after Chicken Inn players, at the instigation of their coach Gumbo, walked off in protest and instead later conducted a warm down on the touch line to signal the end of their involvement with the game.

“In the 87th minute, I awarded a penalty to Yadah FC when a Chicken Inn FC player Moses Jackson (No 14), in his own penalty area, tackled a Yadah FC player Milton Makopa (No 15) in a careless manner. The Chicken Inn head coach, Mr Rahman Gumbo, instructed his players to leave the field of play before the penalty kick could be taken in what appeared to be a protest of my decision to award the penalty. In the 13th minute of the stoppage period, Chicken Inn captain Moses Jackson came to where I and the assistant referees, saying that the coaches had sent him with the message that they were prepared to continue if I would change the initial decision for an indirect free-kick outside the penalty area. The decision to abandon the match was made after waiting for 30 minutes,” read part of Majoni’s report. That report was also corroborated by the match commissioner Nelson Kusosa and as is the norm in such disputes in football, the match officials’ reports are central to the decision-making of the various committees that determine outcomes of the disputes or appeals. Just like Majoni, match commissioner Kusosa also accused former Warriors gaffer Gumbo as the man who summoned the players to the touch line having started with goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze who should have faced the Yadah Stars penalty.

“I report that in the 87th minute of the above-mentioned match, a Chicken Inn FC defending player — jersey number 4 — committed a careless tackle on a Yadah FC striker — jersey number 15. The careless tackle was committed in the Chicken Inn FC penalty area. The referee, Munyaradzi Majoni, who was close to play and seemed to have a clear view of the incident, blew his whistle for the foul and pointed to the penalty sport, awarding Yadah FC a penalty kick. The Chicken Inn FC players confronted the referee disputing the penalty decision. The Chicken Inn goalkeeper also went to the referee, who was standing near the penalty mark, to protest the referee’s decision. The Chicken Inn FC technical staff, including the coach Mr Rahman Gumbo, left the technical area and entered onto the pitch-about two meters from the touchline. The coach seemed to be beckoning his players to come to him. The Chicken Inn FC goalkeeper then went to where his coach and other technical staff members where — near the touchline. After a short while, the other Chicken Inn FC players also went to where their technical staff were — on the field of play near the touchline — apparently responding to the beckoning call from their coach. After 26 minutes of stoppage of play, the Chicken Inn FC players went to the North-Western side of the field of play and did some warm-down exercises — this seemed to be a clear indication that they were not going to resume play. 30 minutes after the stoppage of play, the referee called off the match. The scoreline was 0-0 at the time of the abandonment of the match,” wrote Kusosa. Although Hara took aim at the PSL, his club’s representative Sihlangu Dlodlo, who stood in for the Gamecocks at the hearing, conceded that his side had erred in their actions at Ascot and even pleaded for leniency while apologising to the sponsors and other stakeholders. We clarify that we breached the Chibuku Super Cup rules and regulations and accept that we are guilty. The events leading to the game could have contributed to the team’s behaviour. PSL refused to listen to our plea to have the game played during the week to avoid counter attraction with COSAFA. The club was advised at the last minute to travel to Gweru without an executive member,” said Dlodlo in his submission.