Mighty Mukuru Wanderers have expressed their intention to appeal against the decisions made by the FAM competitions committee regarding their abandoned Airtel Top 8 quarter-final first leg match against Silver Strikers at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
The acting CEO of the Nomads, Roosevelt Mpinganjira, confirmed this in an interview yesterday but directed further inquiries to the club's board secretary and legal advisor, Chancy Gondwe, for more information.
"I can confirm that we are appealing FAM's verdict, but for more details, our board secretary and legal advisor, Counsel Chancy Gondwe, can provide the information," Mpinganjira said.
Unfortunately, Gondwe was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Among other penalties, the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions committee awarded a 2-0 victory to Silver after finding the Nomads guilty of causing the abandonment of the match due to their players' refusal to continue playing in protest against the decision made by referee Godfrey Nkhakananga.
Additionally, the committee imposed a fine of K500,000 on Mighty Mukuru Wanderers FC for failing to take the necessary precautions to prevent their supporters from engaging in unsporting behavior, such as throwing objects on the field and damaging stadium seats.
The FAM competitions body also mandated the Lali Lubani Road outfit to cover the costs associated with repairing and restoring the damaged facilities at the stadium, estimated to be around K22 million.
Furthermore, the club was fined K2 million for bringing the game of football, FAM, and the sponsor into disrepute.
The committee dismissed the club's protest, stating that it was inadmissible because, according to Article 13.5 of the Airtel Top 8 Rules and Regulations, decisions made by the referee concerning the interpretation of the Laws of the Game cannot be protested.
As a result of his handling of the match, referee Godfrey Nkhakananga has been suspended for four months by the FAM referees subcommittee. The suspension stems from Nkhakananga's failure to control the match by allowing play to continue after blowing the whistle to stop play, not properly restarting play, allowing a goal from a dead ball situation, and blowing the whistle to give advantage.
Football pundit Charles Nyirenda, quoted by our sister newspaper, The Nation, suggested that the Nomads could challenge the appeal due to potential loopholes in the committee's decision.
Nyirenda commented, "The determination consists of two parts. The first part pertains to the abandonment of the match. The determination acknowledges that Nkhakananga blew the whistle for a handball but allowed play to continue, leading to Silver scoring."
"Now, the other part addresses the damage to the stadium property, primarily the plastic chairs. According to the stadium authorities' assessment, 239 seats were destroyed. The question then arises: how much does each seat cost? I find the K22 million figure to be excessive. I'm not convinced that the damage incurred could amount to that much."
