The Commercial Arbitration Centre on Friday upheld the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) Appeals Committee’s decision to maintain a disputed 4-2 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) result between Dynamos and Hwange on May 6 — a decision that had a large bearing on the championship race set to be decided this afternoon.
Report by Simba Rushwaya
The decision reached by the Arbitration Committee, led by respected lawyer and businessman Muchadeyi Masunda, brought finality to a marathon row that had threatened to derail the championship fate and bring the game of football into disrepute.
The fact that the dispute was brought to finality was welcome and averted undesirable consequences to the game, but obviously Hwange would feel hard done by the outcome. The same can be said about title-chasing Highlanders who were hoping to cash in on a decision that would have nailed Dynamos.
Take this scenario; if Dynamos had had three points deducted by Masunda and company, it would have meant an advantage to Bosso who have 66 points — two adrift of Dynamos in the current log standings. That would have meant that the Bulawayo giants would have overtaken their rivals by one point going into today’s matches.
For Hwange, they would have been assured of a place in the top flight league had they been awarded three points from the match. Hwange are still fighting for survival and need a draw against Quelaton today to avoid the chop. But it’s now just wishful thinking.
However, there are lessons to be learnt following the shameful events which saw Hwange coaches Nation Dube and Mebelo Njengwa being assaulted by Dynamos marshals. It is indeed a disgrace that in this day and age, people have the audacity to attack coaches of a rival team.
There was no reason whatsoever for the marshals to attack the two coaches. Dynamos, as the home team, must have ensured safety for their visitors. After all, football is entertainment and one of it’s greatest luminaries Pele coined it a “beautiful game”.
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Where is the beauty when coaches are being attacked by rogues? Where is the beauty when violence is the order of the day? Soccer is supposed to be a family game and people should bring their children to the stadia to watch their heroes play. What will our children learn from such incidents?
The PSL must come hard on clubs who have unruly elements within their structures and ban those rascals from stadia for the safety of peace-loving soccer fans.
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