STRUGGLING Dongo Sawmill have attracted the wrath of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) as they will be censured for causing the abandonment of the match against log leaders Chicken Inn at Luveve Stadium on Saturday.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
Also to be charged is Chicken Inn goalkeepers’ coach Julius Ndlovu, who allegedly assaulted Dongo’s medic Wurayayi Chiparange. The match was only played for 60 minutes with Chicken Inn leading 1-0 through Tafadzwa Kutinyu.
PSL chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele yesterday said they had received match commissioner Mike Phiri’s report on what transpired on Saturday and Dongo and Ndlovu will be hauled before the league’s disciplinary committee at a later date.
“We have received the report from the match commissioner. We are going to charge Dongo Sawmill for causing the abandonment of the match and Julius Ndlovu for violence. The matter will be referred to the disciplinary committee at a date to be advised,” Ndebele said.
Ndlovu allegedly assaulted Chiparange with a water bottle when the Dongo medic passed through the Chicken Inn bench and was later arrested and taken to Luveve Police Station where he was later released.
Chiparange was taken to HQ1 Brigade by ambulance and Dongo refused to continue with the game without their medic.
Dongo also said they feared for their safety and after a 30-minute stoppage, referee Philani Ncube gave them five minutes to decide if they were going to continue with the game, but the Rusape-based side insisted on not playing.
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Ncube then called of the match.
While Chicken Inn could be facing sanctions, precedence has shown that a replay will be remote decision for the PSL Disciplinary Committee (DC).
A decade ago, a Highlanders-Caps United match was abandoned in the 89th minute with the scoreline at 3-3 and the DC looked at incidents that caused the abandonment that the result.
In 2012, Hwange played without coach Nation Dube after the gaffer was pummelled by Dynamos bouncers and lost 4-2 at Rufaro. In the latest incident, a Mars ambulance was in place and Dongo cannot claim that they could not have proceeded with the match without a medic.
