The Sunday Mail
THE Zimbabwe Soccer Referees’ Association chairperson, John Phiri, has warned that his body is closely monitoring the conduct of referees as both the Castle Premier Soccer League and Division One leagues head for the wire.
With the leagues heading for thrilling climaxes, referees have been accused of aiding certain teams, with Hwange coach Nation Dube critical of the way his team’s match away to Triangle was handled last weekend.
A Ronald Mudimu penalty gave the hosts a 1-0 win.
Dube was furious with referee Rugare Kusosa’s conduct and lost his cool after the final whistle.
“That was daylight robbery and the game was decided by the referee, thank you,” the Chipangano coach said in his post-match interview.
While Dube was fuming at Gibbo, chaotic scenes were being witnessed at Gwanzura during the Yadah TV Cup semi-finals, as Yadah Gunners claimed there is a conspiracy to ensure that they don’t taste success.
Gunners, who had their coach Kuda Masaraure ejected from the technical bench, felt they got a raw deal from referee Norman Matemera during their 1-3 loss to Mushowani Stars.
The team’s financier, Walter Magaya, who is also sponsoring the Yadah Cup, disclosed that he had pulled the plug on his decision to sponsor the Northern Region Division One League after witnessing some “poor” officiating from referee Norman Matemera.
“Such kind of officiating only serves to scare away potential sponsors. Football should be played fairly, but what we saw at Gwanzura was not good at all.
“We are destroying our own football by pushing away sponsors.
“I had plans to sponsor the whole league. I like football because it brings millions of people together, creating employment in the process, but I am put off now,” he said.
However, TV replays exonerate Matemera from the allegations.
Amid such simmering temperatures, Phiri says his committee is keeping an eagle eye on proceedings.
“We have called in our committee to impress the need for impartial officiating, especially at this stage of the season where every team has something to play for.
“We know some teams may try to approach the referees in order to gain favours, but we are saying no to biased refereeing. Whoever is caught on the wrong side of the law will face the full consequences. We will be scrutinising the referees’ actions and once we get a bad report, we will not hesitate to take stern action,” warned Phiri.
