Player war erupts in Central Soccer League

Marime left Hardbody before signing a one-and-a-half year contract with Tripple B and later on penning a one-year contract with FC Strikers.

In a letter written to the Zifa Central Region dated 1 August, Vavheneki, as Strikers are affectionately known, allege that when they went to register the player on 26 July, they were told that he had already been registered by Tripple B but the official refused to show them a copy of the clearance letter. Part of the letter reads, “It is our concern that we would like the whole football fraternity to see double standards of registration by Aleck Marime.

“Aleck Marime signed a contract with Tripple B on 26 July 2012 and was given his signing-on fees for the rest of the season. It was to our surprise that we were told by a Zifa official that he had already signed a contract with Tripple B which he submitted to them. We tried by all means to be shown the documents but the official refused.

This to us is gross cheating by the player if he had signed a contract with Tripple B already. “Another Centralgate must be avoided before the season resumes.”

However, Tripple B contend that they were the first to register the player with Zifa. Club secretary, Gibson Makhanda said they registered the player way before their bitter rivals and accused the player of double dealing.

“We were the ones who invited the player to Beitbridge and I am the one who actually went to Gweru to sort out his clearance papers with Hardbody. After that we then registered him with Zifa.

“That is cheating by the player because he went on to give FC Strikers a photocopy of the clearance certificate while we had the original,” Makhanda said. Both teams are gunning for the championship with Tripple B on top of the log with 35 points, five points ahead of their rivals who are second.

Last year the region was dogged by issues of player registration which delayed the crowning of champions from the region after Hardbody and coincidentally Tripple B were locked in another legal battle over the improper registration of Tatenda Chingara by the Gweru side.

The matter was only settled by the Commercial Arbitration Centre which ruled in favour of Hardbody.