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HARARE giants Dynamos yesterday said they were not happy with the Premier Soccer League Disciplinary Committee’s judgment on Stephen Alimenda after learning that the midfielder is required to pay in excess of $5 300 in fines and costs of the hearing.
The hard-tackling midfielder was found guilty of contravening Order 31 of the Premier Soccer League Rules and Regulations for abusing Tsholotsho Pirates medic Sibusisiwe Mthunzi.
He was fined $2 500, $500 of which was suspended for the rest of the season on condition he is not convicted of any offence involving an element of violence.
Alimenda was also asked to pay for the costs of the hearing in addition to a three-match ban.
DeMbare yesterday received the breakdown of the costs and club president Kenny Mubaiwa was clearly not happy.
Mubaiwa said apart from the $2 000 fine, Alimenda was asked to pay a further $2 000 to the committee, $675 to the Tsholotsho officials who attended the hearing and another $675 to the referees to cover their transport and accommodation.
The PSL Disciplinary Committee is headed by Vusi Vuma and also includes former referee Brighton Mudzamiri and Doreen Gapare.
The Tsholotsho Pirates officials who attended the hearing are Mthunzi and head coach Lizwe Sweswe.
“We received communication from PSL today (yesterday) and to our surprise we have learnt that Alimenda is actually being asked to pay $5 330 in total.
“I don’t know how they get to these figures but we feel the PSL Disciplinary Committee is being insensitive here.
“There have been cases where people were found guilty before but this is the first time that I am hearing of such amounts.
“In fact, this kind of money is too much for a football player in an environment such as ours.
“The players don’t even earn that much and to make matters worse this guy was suspended for three matches, which means he has lost out on winning bonuses.
“Again we have this question, who should be paying the Disciplinary Committee? Is it the player, Dynamos or the PSL? We need clarification there.
“As Dynamos we have written to them that we are not in a position to pay any of the costs because the disciplinary action was targeted at the player and not the club,” said Mubaiwa.
PSL chief executive Kenny Ndebele said the Disciplinary Committee was an independent body which makes its decisions based on the facts at hand.
Ndebele advised Dynamos to approach the ZIFA Appeals Committee if they were not happy with the ruling.
“I cannot really comment on the judgments and the fines because it’s something that is done by an independent body.
“What I can say is that if a party is not happy with the fines he has every right to approach the ZIFA Appeals Committee,” said Ndebele.
Online Reporter