DYNAMOS Football Club this week threatened to pull out of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the Easycall Cup in protest over a disciplinary ruling against two of their players in what can best described as infantile petulance from the club.
The club has a valid point in terms of equal application of the rules, but the threat to pull out can best be described as immaturity.
Several other teams’ players have threatened referees and mobbed them and Dynamos have the right to appeal and also ask questions why the PSL seems to be harsh on them while letting others get away scot free.
Dynamos do not have to throw their toys out of the pram and sulk, instead they have a window of opportunity to challenge the PSL and demand fair application of the law.
On the other hand, while the disciplinary ruling may be contested, anyone who has been following Dynamos this season will know it was expected.
In September, NewsDay warned that Roderick Mutuma was living on the edge and should be advised to tone down after skirmishes with fellow striker, Takesure Chinyama.
Both are vital to Dynamos and extremely talented, but it is worrisome that discipline is not part of their repertoire and that is costly to the team and their careers.
If Dynamos make good on their threat to pull out of the PSL, they would only have dealt with the symptoms, because wherever they go, Mutuma’s behaviour will be an albatross around their necks.
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We are aware that Mutuma is a maverick genius and living on the edge might give him that adrenalin rush to bring out the best in himself, but Dynamos should have a way of managing that.
There are a number of stars worldwide with chequered disciplinary records, but where their teams have excelled is managing their emotions without killing off their talents.
This is a very emotive issue for everyone involved with Dynamos, but issuing such threats is not progressive and we urge them to calm down and clear their heads before acting on a whim.
A cause for concern though, is that if Dynamos do not pull out of the Easycall Cup, their threat has only served to ratchet up emotions ahead of their match against Highlanders.
Games between Highlanders and Dynamos are usually a tinderbox, only waiting for a match to light up and explode.
Without seeming like we are blaming Dynamos for any violence, we urge the team’s executive and that of Highlanders to be smart in the manner they handle the situation without emotions boiling over.
Equally important, we hope there is no blowback that will cast the PSL in bad light and cause a flight of sponsors.
Our football needs all the corporate support it can get and we appreciate what NetOne and Delta, though their Castle brand, have done and we hope they continue supporting the sport.
We hope common sense will prevail at the end of the day and football emerges the winner.
