Carlos Kambaekwa
Last weekend’s shenanigans during the semi-finals of the MTC NFA Cup cannot go unchallenged.
What transpired towards the end of the first semi-final between Civics and Ramblers should never have happened in the first place and those in charge of the beautiful game should take a good look at themselves.
The post-match fiasco caught yours truly and thousands of supporters who braved the chilly weather by surprise as it once again demonstrated the notion that darkies are not in the habit of paging through basic documents that are meant to guard their togetherness, to say the least.
When the country’s football authorities launched the 2007/2008 MTC NFA Cup competition at the beginning of this year – they boastfully reminded the clubs and players alike to read through the rules and regulations governing this particular competition.
But alas, the very same self-styled football gurus dismally failed to implement their own rules and would have been left with more egg on the face had it not been for the timely intervention of Paul “Ma-Willies” Stramis.
The two teams were ordered to ready themselves for the dreaded penalty shootout following their 1-all stalemate after 90 minutes of play.
The rules that were so proudly paraded by the forever-bungling Organized Committee state very clear that should there be a stalemate from the semi-finals onwards – 30 minutes of extra time will be added before a penalty shootout takes place.
It goes beyond any comprehension as to how the match officials were not aware of these simple rules and yours truly is honestly shivering like a fired-up “Boere Orkes” as to what could have happened had one team lost and then revisited the rules.
On a rather positive note – yours truly would like to use this platform to applaud Mitiri Uahira Tjirondero for his tireless efforts in mobilising African Stars’ supporters to come out in large numbers and support their beloved team.
These are the sort of supporters who have the potential of taking our ailing game to the next level – and I hope and trust those in charge of the Year End Awards will consider this kind of support – certainly not the guy who runs around a football stadium like a headless hoender.
Bring the Culprits to Book
Last weekend saw two nasty separate incidents in which players brought the game of football into disrepute, big time!
The action of Civics’ purple haired winger Enslin “Chameleon” Kamuhanga and veteran Tigers goalkeeper Abiater “Fox” Nambundunga, should not be left unpunished.
Both players received marching orders from the men in black but then allowed their emotions to get the better of them as they physically assaulted the referees without any provocation.
Kamunhanga is a very promising player but must be taught the finer points of good behaviour while Nambundunga’s total disregard for authority has been in the public domain for quite some time now.
But how can we expect these players to behave properly if they are constantly encouraged by their respective benches to disobey the rules.
It has been a long-standing rule that any offence, be it on or off the ball, committed in the penalty box would result in a spot kick being awarded against the offending team, irrespective of where the ball was during the incident.
Unfortunately, we still have clueless officials who claim to be masters of the game while they are still very wet behind the ears.
Before I sign off, I must confess that I’ve never ever before in my entire life come across such shoddy workings as witnessed in the NPL office where fixtures are changed at the slightest provocation – making pen-pushers look like a bunch of moegoes. Let me ink off here.