By Lovemore Boora
PREMIER Soccer League chairman Farai Jere has condemned the acts of hooliganism that led to the abandonment of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match between FC Platinum and CAPS United played at Mandava Stadium, Zvishavane.
Jere was quoted as saying such acts tarnished the clean image of Zimbabwean football and will not be tolerated in future.
The FC Platinum and CAPS United match was called off in the 88th minute after Ralph Kawondera’s neatly curled strike was ruled out for offside.
FC Platinum had taken an early lead via a Juan Mutudza strike which CAPS United players and faithful believed should also have been ruled out for the same reason.
Two minutes before the final whistle, Kawondera curled in a beautiful strike from a miscued effort by an FC Platinum defender but assistant referee Mncedisi Maphosa waved his flag for offside, much to the chagrin of the visitors’ fans.
The disgruntled CAPS United fans charged onto the pitch, clamouring for the match officials’ heads.
Sensing danger, the match officials sprinted for dear life and hid in the tunnels until the match was called off for security reasons.
A visibly disappointed Jere, who is also the CAPS United boss, said what happened at Mandava Stadium painted a bad picture of Zimbabwean football.
“This is totally unacceptable, I have been reading about the events and watching the videos, but we don’t take law into our own hands,” fumed Jere.
“What CAPS United fans did is totally unacceptable.
“This is now going to put the position of the club in a very bad state and, to a bigger extent, the brand PSL and our football at large. We want our fans to enjoy football. Football this year is exciting with the way things are happening.”
The PSL boss also warned soccer fans not to take the law into their hands and not to be judges because the laws governing the beautiful game are not cast in stone.
He urged fans to play a positive role by supporting their clubs and respecting the referees’ decisions because, at the end of the day, football should be the winner.
Jere went to remind soccer fans that since referees were human they were bound to make mistakes.
The CAPS United president was confident that were it not for the fans’ unruly behaviour, his team could have equalised or even made a dramatic comeback to snatch the much needed three points in the dying minutes or injury time.
“This is part of football, you know. People make mistakes — we err and, at times, it’s a misjudgment, not a deliberate action,” said Jere.
The PSL chairman described the protection of referees as everyone’s mandate and urged aggrieved parties to follow laid-down channels for the purposes of seeking redress.
Jere applauded the high standard of officiating in the last five rounds of PSL matches adding that the number of referees had been trimmed in order to improve the standard of refereeing across the board.
“We need to respect [the sanctity of] life, our referees and their decisions. Generally, the quality of our refereeing has improved. They are doing quite a fantastic job,” Jere said.
The PSL chairman urged the PSL Disciplinary Committee to take swift remedial action, hinting that the ‘Makepekepe’ fans’ unruly behaviour was going to cost their beloved club a fortune in penalties.
Meanwhile, CAPS United are set to appear before the PSL Disciplinary Committee on April 23 2024. In a statement, PSL communications and media officer Kudzai Bare, said:
“The PSL has summoned CAPS United FC to appear before the PSL Disciplinary Committee following the abandonment of the Castle Lager PSL match between FC Platinum and CAPS United FC played at Mandava Stadium on Saturday, April 6 2024.
CAPS United FC have been charged for breaching the PSL rules and regulations.
It is an act of misconduct on the part of the club where:
(31.1.1.13): Its supporters misbehave in any manner during or after a match, no matter on which the ground the match is played. Without derogating from the generality of what constitutes misbehaviour on the part of supporters, the following are specifically declared to be acts of misbehaviour.
31.1.13.1: Invasion of the field of play, save for reasons of crowd safety.
31.1.13.2: Causing the abandonment or attempting to cause the abandonment of a match,” wrote Bare.
Last season, Bulawayo giants Highlanders were dragged before the same committee following the abandonment, in the 36th minute, of their grudge match against Harare giants Dynamos. Bosso fans stormed onto the pitch in protest against what they saw as a ‘biased’ decision by the match officials.
Bosso were fined US$5 000, of which US$509 was suspended on condition of good behaviour while their perennial rivals, DeMbare, were slapped with a US$3 500 fine for the violent manner in which their fans reacted to attacks by the home team’s fans.
Ahead of the new season, the PSL promised fans a season filled with entertaining football, a vibrant atmosphere and a renewed sense of community; reinforcing the belief that football has the power to bring people together in celebration of what the legendary Pele called the ‘world’s most beautiful game’. Regrettably, the ugly scenes at Mandava Stadium paint a different picture altogether.
Hopefully, a harsh judgment in the FC Platinum-CAPS United match will serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
The burning question right now is who is to blame for soccer hooliganism? Is it the fans or the match officials?
Zimbabwe Referees’ Committee chairman Norman Matemera is of the view that his match officials are doing a splendid job and it is the duty of football stakeholders —fans and coaches alike — to familiarise themselves with the laws of the game.
Referring to the ugly incidents at Mandava Stadium, Matemera insisted “my referees were spot on, and I’m happy with that technical decision. [But at the same time], it proves that our stakeholders require help to understand the laws of the game. It is our duty us custodians of the laws of the game to find ways to assist them to understand [them].
“The [CAPS United] supporters were not supposed to behave that way. Violence traumatises fans. It will also have a long-term effect on the referee whom they wanted to beat up. We have no place for hooligans [in our soccer],” Matemera said.
On the other hand, CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe and his Chicken Inn counterpart, Joey Antipas, believe local referees have reduced the league to a comedy of errors. Their views were shared by Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe who heaped the blame on match officials after the Harare giants were forced to share the spoils with Yadah and Bulawayo Chiefs in their most recent matches.
However, Matemera had no kind words for coaches who played the blame game or those who issued inflammatory comments after failing to accept defeat or draw.
Aggrieved coaches were free to approach his office if they wanted the laws of the game clarified, Matemera pointed out.
Meanwhile, the FIFA Member Association Referees’ Course kicked off in Harare on Tuesday this week under the leadership of FIFA technical instructor Felix Tangawarima and physical instructor Bento from Mozambique. Designed to mould match officials into game-changers, it brought together 25 male and 10 female referees from across Zimbabwe, including 14 on the FIFA international panel.
