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| (Highlanders and Dynamos rivalry that never ends) |
To start with, football is a game played under a set of laws and unlike other sports who have rules. And there is a difference between laws and rules.
It must be noted that football is run by the custodians of the game in any given territory, and as an association sport, members who play it, do form that association as they associated.
Those who associated, participate in a league in which they have rules and regulations governing that particular competition. The referee enforces the law at all times and his decisions are final. It is always about his own opinion.
Highlanders and Dynamos played a 1-1 draw over the weekend in a match where one Dynamos player was dismissed (red-carded) for dangerous play. Here we will only use football language.
Highlanders, like Dynamos, play football under the auspices of association football and are members of Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), but playing in the competition sanctioned by ZIFA, called the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (ZPSL).
ZIFA and ZPSL have competitions and these competitions have the rules governing them and are clear to both parties. Of course, somewhere along the way ther is either a fol, a clown or a vicitm.
One must note that the associations of each territory come together as equal members of an international body called FIFA. FIFA has a special body governing the laws of the game, the IFAB (International Football Association Board).
According to IFAB, only special members can make special decisions outside the field of play. Otherwise, the referee's decisions are final at all times.
This is the reason why the English Premier League can look at the incidents on video and make decisions according. That special dispensation is not common to all members.
One reason for its acceptance in England and possibly a few more members now is that technology available leaves no doubt about anything, as there are multiple cameras to view the same incident.
All said and done, there are always impartial committees to review each incident weekly. These uninterested parties are experts in what they do, in terms of laws and technology.
In the matter at hand, Zimbabwe Referees Committee (ZRC) chairman happens to be the Zimbabwe Football Association chairperson, Philip Chiyangwa. He is a known Dynamos sympathiser.
The question arises as to why he got involved in a Zimbabwe Premier League matter, as the competition is not a ZIFA baby?
ZIFA cannot find themselves handling an appeal from any team for a competition they do not run unless the case has been escalated to that level. To nullify the red card shown to Dynamos striker Christian Epoupa Ntouba on Sunday at Rufaro Stadium shows some form of football illiteracy.
There are few red lights here, given that ZIFA had decided to overrule referee Arnold Ncube's decision without giving reasons and that Dynamos Richard Chihoro said that they had not appealed at all.
Whether it was a Chiyangwa or ZIFA decision, it is a mad decision. Either way, it must be sought to clarify under what condition and auspices such decision was made, like the members present and their capacities.
It must be noted that whether that seating had video analysis and made their decisions made by their opinions of the incident, their opinion does not matter. How many times do people view the same thing for years and fail to agree on the right outcome?
If the referees made the wrong decisions, such committees must not reverse the decisions but either train their personnel or punish the perpetrators. And in any case, there is not a single qualification Chiyangwa holds to sit on that committee.
At some stage, I think this is a nuisance of an incident to receive attention and it can never happen. There are no grounds to implement such a decision.
Dynamos will have to play their next match against Caps United, and if they use the same player, will the ZPSL accept the Cameroonian player in their team sheets? I do not think so. Let us say that the match goes on, and Dynamos use that player, ZPSL can simply dock the points as it is their competition, not ZIFA's competition.
Regarding the ZPSL, there seems to have been no letter or appeal made to them about their own competition, meaning that as far as they are concerned, the noise about this issue is a lot of farce about nothing.
Ncube surely made a report to the owners of the competition. Unless he handed a different story, then the ZPSL have some work to do. For now, they must stay put as they have clear rules and guidelines regarding such matters.
It has been brought to our attention, that the Order 30 of the PSL Rules and Regulations is as follows:
30.1 Any club involved in a match, may lodge a protest with the League in respect of any match played under the auspices of the League provided that:
30.1.2.3 A written protest accompanied by a protest fee of US$1000 (One thousand dollars) is lodged with the General Secretariat of the League within 48 hours (forty-eight) hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays) of the game and
30.1.2.4 The written protest referred to in order 30.1 above sets out the full facts on which it is based and refers to the Article and/or rule and regulation allegedly contravened by the offending party; and
30.1.2.5 The protest is not made against the referee’s and/or assistant referee’s decision connected with play, such decisions being final.
Do you think there is anything that Highlanders should worry about? Let us know.
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