THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) has come down heavily on Caps United and their coach Lloyd Chitembwe (pictured) over acts of misconduct during the 2017 Castle Lager Premiership season.
BY HENRY MHARA
Chitembwe, on numerous occasions, violated the PSL rules and regulations on media by refusing to conduct pre-match and post-match interviews.
The gaffer would delegate the duties to his assistant coaches, mostly Fungai Kwasi, or worse, to a fitness trainer, something that raised the ire of sports journalists and sponsors.
According to the PSL rules and regulations, every time a coach, captain or player refuses to avail themselves for pre-match or post-match interviews, a fine of $125 is imposed on the offending individual while the club get fined $500.
Information gathered by NewsDaySport shows that Chitembwe transgressed nine times, attracting a fine of $1 125.
On the other hand, Caps United were fined $4 500.
The league might have recorded just nine reported incidents when Chitembwe refused to address the media, but the number is much bigger than that as he barely conducted post-match interviews throughout the season.
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In September, the Sports Journalists’ Association reported Chitembwe and Caps United to the PSL, who in turn wrote to the club asking them to whip their coach into line.
The club’s chief executive Cuthbert Chitima, at the time, promised to address the issue with his coach, but despite the assurance, Chitembwe’s relations with the media barely improved.
Chicken Inn coach Rahman Gumbo and his club are also facing punishment for similar offences.
The severity of their punishment couldn’t be immediately ascertained, although a PSL official confirmed that Gumbo was also reported for snubbing the media.
The PSL normally deduct the fines from a club’s prize monies.
Chitembwe’s transgressions have also infuriated the league’s principal sponsors Delta Beverages who have threatened to withdraw their support.
Speaking during the end of the season Soccer Stars of the Year awards ceremony, Delta Corporation marketing director Maxen Karombo said his organisation was worried that some coaches from top clubs were failing to abide by rules.
“Coaches have an obligation to speak to journalists after matches. We have had instances of coaches refusing to speak to the media. Chairmen of clubs here present, please note that this is a serious breach of our sponsorship contract. Tolerating this behaviour puts the sponsorship continuity at risk,” said Karombo.
Delta’s contract with the PSL ends in 2019.
Chitembwe returned to the Caps United bench in the 2015 season and went on to clinch the league title the following year.
In that season, Chitembwe was one of the most professional coaches, as he related with the media well, with his weekly Press conferences very popular.
But his behaviour changed following his success, and deteriorated even further after his team’s good showing in the Caf Champions League where the Green Machine, against odds, reached the competition’s group stages.
