dyton mupawaenda
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
The Herald, November 28, 2023
BIKITA Minerals have been promoted into the Castle Lager Premiership via a boardroom decision that awarded them maximum points from their final match of the season against Grayham FC.
Eastern Region Soccer League vice-chairman Simba Wisdom confirmed the latest development.
“We deliberated on the matter between Bikita Minerals and Graham FC on Saturday here in Mutare. As the outcome of the deliberations, we discovered that indeed Graham FC used an ineligible player. The player in question is Calvin Tinashe Chiwere who was using
Munyaradzi Machipisa’s licence. He is a 32-year old player who was using a 22-year old player’s licence.
“There was overwhelming evidence. Therefore, according to Rule 13.1 Paragraph B it says if a club uses an ineligible player and the issue is raised during inspection the team using the ineligible player gets three points docked from them, a fine is imposed while the opponents gets maximum points.
“This is the reason we gave Bikita Minerals three points. Technically, Bikita Minerals now have 60 points and Tenax have 59. Bikita Minerals are the 2023 Eastern Region champions.
“We have also suspended Chiwere for six months. In the same hearing, Bikita Minerals was fined US$2 000 for assaulting referees.
“Like I said earlier on, Grayham FC have three points docked. The match is given to Bikita Minerals on a three nil scoreline. Grayham was also given a US$1 000 fine,” said Wisdom.
The development means the lithium miners have joined three other clubs from the country’s second tier leagues to complete the list of debutants for the 2024 PSL season.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter