Dynamos stand by Chafa

Harare Bureau
DYNAMOS chairman Kenny Mubaiwa said it is unfortunate that the Devon Chafa doping storm has burst at a time when the boy is in top form but they will stand by him until Fifa finalise their investigations.
The midfielder failed a doping test when his urine samples showed traces of a prohibited substance after the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Egypt in July.

Preliminary reports are that Chafa could have taken the prohibited substance from drugs prescribed by a family doctor. He is already assisting Fifa with their enquiries.

Yesterday Mubaiwa said while they await the findings of Fifa, they stand by the player. He said the player had not been cited for a hearing or suspended from playing football.

“When we played Highlanders, Devon got injured on the jaw and it was during that period that he received medication firstly from the team doctors before we got him treated with other doctors as well.

“But we have confidence in Devon and do not suspect that he might have used any funny banned substance. He is one player whose character is not dubious and maybe if it has been any other player of questionable character we would think otherwise.

“This issue has also come at a time when he is in form and is playing good football. We just hope that this ordeal will not affect him as he awaits Fifa to complete their investigations.

“As a club we are behind Chafa. We will stand by him through the whole process. Without official communication from Zifa or Fifa, we will continue to field and use him.

“Even on Sunday, he would be part of the team that will play in the BancABC semi final as long as he is fit,” said Mubaiwa.
The Dynamos boss said they had spoken to the player and are hoping that everything would be put to rest as soon as possible.
Yesterday, the management team barred the player from commenting on the issue.

Zifa have since cleared the air on issue. They said after a random anti-doping test conducted on the player in July revealed that the midfielder was found to have traces of a prohibited substance, Fifa asked the team doctor Nick Munyonga to look into the issue further. The team doctor then wrote back to Fifa informing them that they had found that Chafa had taken in medication prescribed by a family doctor.
The mother body said they were yet to hear from Fifa whether the player would be suspended or banned from playing either for his club or the national team.
Fifa in the past have suspended players after failing to pass drug tests.