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Dynamos appeal replay decision

Sport
League champions Dynamos yesterday said they would launch an appeal against the Premier Soccer League (PSL)’s ruling to have their league match against Hwange replayed. The PSL on Wednesday announced that the result of the match in which Dynamos marshals Abraham Kwenda, James Dzamu and Simbarashe Zviitwa allegedly assaulted Hwange coach Nation Dube and his […]

League champions Dynamos yesterday said they would launch an appeal against the Premier Soccer League (PSL)’s ruling to have their league match against Hwange replayed.

The PSL on Wednesday announced that the result of the match in which Dynamos marshals Abraham Kwenda, James Dzamu and Simbarashe Zviitwa allegedly assaulted Hwange coach Nation Dube and his assistant Mebelo Njekwa at Rufaro Stadium just before kickoff early last month has been nullified.

They ordered the match, which Dynamos won 4-2, to be played at a neutral venue. In addition, the Harare giants were fined $2 000 of which $1 000 was suspended on condition that the club is not convicted of a similar offence for the rest of the season. The fine has to be paid by the end of this month.

Dynamos were also ordered to meet the full costs in respect of transport, accommodation and food for Hwange for the replay match.

Kwenda, Dzamu and Zviitwa were not spared either. The trio have been banned from attending all soccer matches under the jurisdiction of Zifa, PSL and any of its affiliates until the end of the season.

However, Dynamos secretary-general Raymond Kazembe feels the penalty is too heavy for his team.

“Obviously we are not happy with the ruling, let alone the fine. The fine is too heavy and I also feel it is very selective. We have other incidents where matches have been abandoned but those teams were not punished this way. Some of those cases which happened way before ours are still pending and it boggles our mind why the PSL then rushed to deal with ours. Maybe they considered the gravity of our case or it’s a case of improved efficiency at PSL,” said Kazembe.

He added: “We are going to sit as an executive this evening (yesterday) to see what we can do but one thing for certain is we are going to appeal the ruling.”

The PSL Disciplinary Committee that deliberated on the case was chaired by Don Moyo with Vusi Vuma and Brighton Mudzamiri as part of the committee.

Dynamos were represented at the hearing by club chairman Keni Mubaiwa and their chief of security Cephas Maseva while the PSL was represented by its chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele.

Part of the ruling reads, “The committee unequivocally holds the view that the game of football should be played in an atmosphere where sportsmanship is self- evident, that teams should compete fairly and that the game is not about winning at all costs including the use of violence in order to cow your opponent into submission. Not only is this kind of behaviour plainly unfair play but it is outright skulduggery and barbaric. We hold the view that violence should not be allowed to rear its ugly head in any of our games. In arriving at the sentence the committee is also alive to the fact that Dynamos should exercise control over all its functionaries. A marshal in this context should be treated differently from the ordinary supporter being involved in violence.”

Meanwhile, Ndebele said the match between Dynamos and Harare City remains suspended from this weekend’s fixtures list.

There was hope that since Dynamos now have two players in the Warriors squad that went to Mozambique yesterday, the match will now be rescheduled to this weekend. But Ndebele yesterday said, “Nothing will change. The fixtures will go ahead as initially announced.”

Fixtures: Tomorrow: FC Platinum v Quelaton (Mandava), Black Mambas v Motor Action (Morris Depot) Sunday: Highlanders v Chicken Inn (Barbourfields), Buffaloes v Gunners (Sakubva), Hwange v Shabanie Mine (Colliery), Hardbody v CAPS United (Ascot), Monomotapa v Blue Rangers (Rufaro).