Chronicle EditorTHE Footballers Union of Zimbabwe have launched a High Court application to force ZIFA to quash the sanctions they imposed on a number of players whose careers were thrown into limbo after being punished for their alleged roles in the Asiagate match-fixing saga.FUZ feel that ZIFA have failed to conclude the case, leaving players like Guthrie Zhokinyi in limbo, despite FIFA refusing to endorse the sanctions because the players were not given a fair hearing by the domestic football leadership.
FIFA also questioned the evidence that ZIFA presented to nail the players, when the association’s leadership handed out the sanctions three years ago, and five bags of material, which the domestic football governing body considered to be evidence to back their case, were considered insufficient by the Zurich-based organisation.
The irony of the case is that while the players represented by FUZ, who ply their game on the domestic front, have been barred from football, their Zimbabwean counterparts in foreign leagues, caught up in the same web, have been free to play the game.
The players were not brought before a ZIFA Disciplinary Committee, as provided for by the ZIFA Constitution, with the sanctions being handed by the Association Board, who acted on the recommendations of the Justice Ebrahim Commission, after a two-day retreat in Harare in 2012.
FIFA legal and disciplinary experts have repeatedly noted that by not dragging the players before a Disciplinary Committee, where the evidence presented against them could be tested, ZIFA simply violated their Constitution and the world football governing body could not endorse such sanctions.
ZIFA appear to have heard of the pending High Court application, from FUZ, and have — in recent weeks — sent a team, led by their lawyer, Ralph Maganga, to interview players and officials who were implicated in the saga under the pretext that they were conducting a fresh exercise into the saga.
There have always been concerns that ZIFA could find themselves walking on a legal minefield, especially when one takes into account that they have been trying to restart a process, where their leadership have already pronounced a judgment on the issue.
To complicate matters, an Appeals process that ZIFA put into motion, with some players like Method Mwanjali and Thomas Sweswe taking advantage of that window to appeal against their bans, paying $6 000 in the process, appears to have been aborted mid-stream despite the players appearing before a three-man Appeals Committee set up by the association.
The verdicts of that committee have never been made public and how ZIFA intended to drag cases, which have already been heard by their Appeals Committee, back to their Disciplinary Committee, also posed legal challenges for the association.
FUZ secretary-general, Paul Gundani, told ZBC News last night that they approached the High Court because ZIFA had failed to bring finality to the case.
Gundani said a number of their members have been severely affected, in the past three years, as they failed to get contracts — at home and abroad – because they carried the weight of being labelled match-fixers.
FUZ have received the support of FIFpro, the organisation which represents professional footballers in the world.
Last year, FIFpro told the world that Zhokinyi had suffered immensely, from the failure by ZIFA to conclude the case, and that he had been banned “without a fair trial.”
“The former player of the Zimbabwean national team is banned for life, without a fair trial,” FIFpro said.
“Zhokinyi and FIFPro are desperately waiting for FIFA to take action against the sanctions taken by the Zimbabwean Football Association.
“Guthrie Zhokinyi is a 30-year old football player. A good one. He played for one of Zimbabwe’s finest sides, Dynamos FC, and has also made 13 appearances for the national team since 2008.
“Now his whole life is in shambles. Tears are in his eyes, as he speaks with a fragile voice. He is waiting for a solution to the difficult situation he is trapped in. Not because he made a mistake.
“No, he is in despair due to the scandalous behaviour of the Zimbabwean Football Association and the lack of support from FIFA.”
The former DeMbare centre-back said he was struggling to make ends meet.
“I am the breadwinner of my family and my parents. I look after the whole family. I am the one who can make our family well,” Zhokinyi told FIFpro
“I am struggling a lot, because I am not playing.” — ZBC News/Sports Reporter.
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