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SEEING RED . . . Bosso chairman Modern Ngwenya (left), with club chief executive Nhlahla Dube, has lashed out at the PSL disciplinary committee

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS have said champions should only come from the football field, and should not be manufactured in the boardroom, as they expressed disappointment with the Premier Soccer League disciplinary committee for awarding their abandoned match to bitter rivals Dynamos.The Bosso leadership have vowed to appeal against the ruling and indicated they will leave no stone unturned in overturning what they claim is an act of injustice.

Yesterday, the judgment of the PSL Disciplinary Committee was released, a week after it was handed to the league’s leadership, and Bosso were punished for the part their fans played in the abandonment of the match on May 14 at Barbourfields.

The match was tied 1-1 at the time it was abandoned and the disciplinary committee awarded DeMbare all three points on a 3-0 scoreline.

They found the Bulawayo giants guilty of the behaviour of their fans and fined them $4 000. Bosso are also expected to bear the costs of the hearing with both fines expected to be paid by July 31.

But the country’s oldest football club indicated they will lodge an appeal this week, which is within their powers, and criticised the judgment. Club chairman Modern Ngwenya yesterday said the judgment was “too severe” and claimed the fine was also exorbitant.

He said the only fair and acceptable judgment would have been for the two teams to replay the match, from the 42nd minute with both teams tied on 1-1, rather than give Dynamos a victory they didn’t get on the pitch.

Ngwenya said football matches should be won on the pitch and not in the boardroom. “Obviously, it is a sad day for us. We are not happy at all. We thought they understood the circumstances surrounding the match,’’ he said.

“We did everything we could from the executive, technical team and the players, we tried to cool down the supporters and have the match continue.

“The assistant referee was emotionally injured, he couldn’t continue with the match. I spoke to him, he said he could not continue to go to the touchline. We thought there were extenuating circumstances in this match which led to the abandonment of the game.

“I don’t think anyone would have wanted the match to be won in the boardroom. The judgment is too severe.

“It’s natural that we are going to appeal to the ZIFA Appeals Committee. We want this game to be finalised on the field of play. “We are obviously pushing for a replay from the 42nd minute. That would be the fairest thing to do.’’ He said they were being punished for matters they couldn’t control.

“There were issues which were beyond our control on the Match Day. We are looking at about 20 000 supporters, but only a group of 30 people threw the missiles.

“We had 120 police details on the day and 30 in plain clothes. As Highlanders we did not have the apparatus to arrest those 30, but now we are being punished for those people,” he said.

Ngwenya said they have since empowered their supporters to control violence at the stadium by discouraging the next supporter from being violent. “There are some people who take advantage of the Highlanders brand. But for us it is no longer a blame game, but all stakeholders should come together.

“How do you know that every supporter wearing black-and-white at the stadium is a Highlanders supporter?’’ Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa yesterday welcomed the judgment.

“We welcome the judgment. It is a good thing for us because we were inconvenienced in that match and this will deter fans to take matters into their own hands and behave in such a manner when decisions don’t go their way. “We welcome the three points and they will leave us in a better position,” said Mutasa.

The sanctions on Bosso come against a background where ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa has commended Highlanders for making spirited efforts to curb violence by introducing a cocktail of measures which will eventually eradicate violence at their matches. As part of their efforts to stop violence, the club will convene weekly press conferences, roadshows, and television and radio campaigns, make use of the social media as well as direct engagement with their fans so that there is zero tolerance to hooliganism.

In a statement on their website, the Association said following a series of meetings with the club chairman and chief executive Nhlanhla Dube, together with the Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane, they felt the club was doing their best to fight hooliganism.

The mother body also resolved the following.
The Government will come up with a policy that will ensure that we have adequate police details at no cost since clubs cannot hire requisite police details because of the prohibitive costs involved.

Clubs should hire an empty stadium; hence clubs should have full control of the following — advertising, kiosk or any food outlet, vendors etc. Any referee who is deemed to have been bribed or does not do their job professionally will be suspended or banned forthwith.

ZIFA will help clubs to deal with any political malcontents who use clubs to push their own vendettas. Ensuring that all perpetrators of violence at stadia are arrested and charged.

A policy shall be formulated to make sure that football laws and the laws of the country are not at variance. No alcoholic beverages or beverage containers of any kind will be allowed into the stadium. All football fans entering match venues must be in possession of acceptable form of identification (National ID, Passport or Driver’s licence).