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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
THE Eastern Region Division One Soccer League have opened investigations over the skirmishes which resulted in the match between Grayham and GreenFuel being abandoned with 18 minutes to play at Windsor Park Primary School on Sunday.
Kick-off was delayed by almost two hours as GreenFuel, who needed just a draw to be confirmed champions, were locked outside the venue by security manning the entrance to the school. Grayham hooligans were baying for the visitors’ blood and they also injured a journalist as they went on the rampage. The match, which was goalless, eventually only got underway at 4:40pm and was predictably abandoned with eighteen minutes to go because of darkness.
And the region’s chairman, Davison Muchena, told The Herald yesterday the matter has since been reported to the police and they were also instituting their own investigations. Both GreenFuel and Grayham have been asked to forward their own submissions by this afternoon while match commissioner, Ian Karoto, who ironically stays in Ruwa according to reports, has been asked to redo his report.
“We have since opened investigations into that matter and by Wednesday (tomorrow) we should be in a position to tell which direction we are taking as a region,” said Muchena. “But, we will sit down together with both teams on Saturday and a determination will be handed soon after.”
According to Karoto, GreenFuel, who have been camping in Harare since last week, were already at the venue when he and his referees arrived at 1pm.
“Having arrived at the match venue with referees at 13:00hrs, GreenFuel, in an away team bus with players, was already at the venue but were denied entry into the stadium by the home team.
“I then called Grayham (Gray Hama), the team chairman, to let him know that the away team was being denied entry into the stadium. He responded by saying that he had given the gate security instruction not to allow GreenFuel entry until 14:50hrs,” read the commissioner’s report.
“The gate was opened at 14:50hrs and there were pulling and pushing between GreenFuel and the security manning the gate into the stadium, one of the GreenFuel officials was handcuffed by the security manning the gate.
“When the situation became normal at 15:15hrs, I consulted GreenFuel officials to let players into the pitch but they said the police (ZRP) security details present were not enough to provide safety to the players, and another team of ZRP officers came to make them a total of eight. By then it was 15:50hrs.
“We had a meeting with chairpersons of both teams after GreenFuel chairman said it was too late to kick off at 16:00hrs and we had to ask the referees who said time was enough to kick off the match. GreenFuel delayed and entered the stadium at 16:30hrs and the match kicked off at 16:40hrs.
“The game went on very well but ended 18 minutes before 90 minutes because it was dark.” Grayham boss, Gray Hama, asked this publication to send him questions in writing to which he had not yet responded by the time of going to print. Maxwell Chikwaikwa was the centre referee assisted by Tawanda Gundani and Simon Maganzo.
Online Reporter