Bosso bombshell . . .Highlanders make sensational match-fixing claims . . .Call for Chibuku Cup replay

06 Oct, 2024 - 00:10 0 Views
Bosso bombshell . . .Highlanders make sensational match-fixing claims . . .Call for Chibuku Cup replay

Robson Sharuko

H-Metro Editor

HIGHLANDERS have made sensational claims that their abandoned Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final showdown against Simba Bhora was fixed.

Bosso claim the wild events at Wadzanai Stadium that day bordered on insanity.

This represents a significant twist in the saga and an escalation in the dispute that was triggered by the wild events which led to the game’s abandonment.

The claims are made in the dossier Bosso presented to the PSL disciplinary committee, where the team denied any involvement in the abandonment of the match and, instead, pointed fingers at referee Cecil Gwezera and his assistant Zondzi Ngosana.

The duo has since been suspended by the ZIFA Referees Committee.

Highlanders are demanding a replay of the match.

Bosso said there have been precedents, including FIFA ordering a replay of the South Africa/Senegal World Cup qualifier and the Belgian top-flight league match between Anderlecht and Genk being replayed after an incorrect VAR call.

Both examples, said Highlanders, showed that the referee’s decision can be challenged when it is not made in the spirit of the game.

“Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva was a crime scene on the 22nd of September 2024. The victims were Highlanders Football Club and football in general,” wrote Bosso.

“The known perpetrators of the crime were the match officials, in particular the referee, one assistant referee and the fourth official.

“The madness must end. Members of the disciplinary committee hearing this matter have an opportunity to end this crime.

“We hope they love football enough that their conscience will guide them to end this scourge that is destroying our sport.

“It’s our submission that the match on 22nd September 2024 was a sham, it was a scam, the officials had just one objective, being to ensure a Simba Bhora victory.

“For that decision it is not correct to argue that the decision of the referee is final.

“The decision of the referee is final if it is made in terms of the laws of the game and where phantom decisions are made in favour of one team against the spirit of the game, the decision cannot be final.

“When penalties are manufactured, that is not a game of football, it is the duty of a sports tribunal to correct that insanity.”

Bosso argued that the game was not played in terms of the rules of the game and, therefore, it was not a normal football match.

They attached a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the dispute involving Burkina Faso, South Africa, Senegal and Cape Verde for reference.

“If it has been established that the outcome of a match has been influenced in a manner contrary to sporting ethics because the match was fixed, it’s reasonable to say that it was the duty of the organising committee to manage the situation.

“In addition, the decision to replay a fixed match does not seem to be arbitrary and unfair.

“On the contrary, to keep a manipulated result would give an unmerited advantage to the team that benefitted from it and it would obviously be incompatible with Fair Play,” wrote Highlanders.

Bosso urged the disciplinary committee to be guided by that ruling.

“Highlanders, therefore, calls upon the disciplinary committee to adopt the above reasoning to save the image of the competition and stop a team benefitting from decisions made contrary to Fair Play.

“There is no right-minded person who does not see the injustice that has been done to Highlanders Football Club and the competition as a whole.”

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