The Chronicle
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Premier Soccer League referee, Bekithemba Moyo, will be sanctioned by the Zifa Referees’ Committee (ZRC) for officiating the first half of Saturday’s tension-filled Southern Region Division One League match between Indlovu Iyanyathela and Bulawayo City without caution cards.
Moyo, one of the referees demoted from the elite group that officiates in the Premiership, spoiled the clash at Mzilikazi Barracks as career-threatening tackles went unpunished.
City won the tie 1-0 through a hotly contested penalty that saw the home team protesting for four-minutes before experienced defender, Zephaniah Ngodzo, converted from the spot kick when play resumed.
ZRC chairperson, Bryton Malandule said he has been briefed about Moyo officiating without cards and indicated that the match should have been delayed.
“I heard about the incident and we’ve said the local referees’ committee should deal with the matter. It’s so sad that the match kicked off without cards. It would have been better if kick-off was delayed while looking for cards and then deal with the referee for causing the delay later because such acts bring the game of football into disrepute,” said Malandule.
Malandule, who is an ex-elite referee, said they always encourage match officials to do checklists on the eve of the game to avoid such embarrassing situations like failure to carry cards.
“When I was practising, we encouraged even the assistant referees to carry cards and whistles just in case the centre man forgets his. Even as the referee of the day, you were encouraged to carry a flag just in case the assistant referee’s flag breaks,” Malandule said. A source in the provincial referees’ committee said Moyo was assigned to handle the Indlovu Iyanyathela versus Bulawayo City game by virtue of being an experienced referee.
“Moyo has put the match commissioner (Kephas Chokuda) in a tight spot because the match commissioner should not have allowed the referee to kick-off the game without cards unless the referee didn’t tell him. We’ve also heard that they kept some referees waiting in the CBD for over 30 minutes yet a drive to town from Mzilikazi Barracks is about five minutes. The two (Moyo and Chokuda) will have to submit their reports and they will certainly be sanctioned,” said the source.
Bulawayo City’s victory saw them extending their lead at the top of the table to three points above Talen Vision, played to a 1-1 away draw against Moto Moto.
Bulawayo City have amassed 21 points from nine games, while Vision are on 18 points with a game in hand.
Southern Region Division 1 Week 9 results
Friday: Bosso 90 1-1 CIWU
Saturday: Casmyn 0-0 Makomo, Moto Moto 1-1 Talen Vision, Indlovu Iyanyathela 0-1 Bulawayo City, Binga 2-1 Mosi Rovers, Ajax Hotspurs 2-2 Arenel Movers, Mainline 0-1 ZPC Hwange, Toronto on BYE
Table
P W D L F A GD Pts
Bulawayo City 9 6 3 0 24 3 21 21
Talen Vision 8 5 3 0 10 3 7 18
CIWU 9 5 1 3 11 7 4 16
Bosso 90 9 4 3 2 15 12 3 15
Makomo 9 3 4 2 11 7 4 13
ZPC Hwange 8 4 1 3 10 7 3 13
I/Iyanyathela 9 3 4 2 5 2 3 13
Binga Pirates 8 4 1 3 9 8 1 13
Ajax Hotspurs 8 3 2 3 12 14 -2 11
Casmyn 9 2 3 4 7 10 -3 9
Moto Moto 8 2 3 3 7 13 -6 9
Toronto 8 2 1 5 8 20 -12 7
Mainline FC 8 1 3 4 9 10 -1 6
Arenel Movers 8 0 4 4 6 17 -11 4
Mosi Rovers 8 0 2 6 4 16 -12 2
— @ZililoR
