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BACK IN THE FOLD . . . Dynamos captain Murape Murape (left) and Roderick Mutuma are expected to resume training with Dynamos this morning after being pardoned by the club yesterday

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS captain Murape Murape and striker Roderick Mutuma are now set to return to the football pitch earlier than expected after the club yesterday decided to lift their suspensions.
The two were banned from football activities for at least two weeks pending a disciplinary hearing that had been slated for September 4 following a training ground bust-up last Tuesday.

Team coach Callisto Pasuwa was not present during the tumultuous week as he was attending a Caf A Licence coaching course and was reportedly against the idea of suspending the players at this crucial stage of the league championship.

The pair missed the drawn home match against Hwange last week and was also not considered for the trip to Triangle where the Glamour Boys chalked up a narrow 2-1 win to climb back to the top of the table.

Club chairman Kenny Mubaiwa confirmed his committee and Pasuwa’s technical team decided not to wait until September 4 and convened a meeting yesterday on the sidelines of the photo-shoot for the TM/Pick n’ Pay Challenge Cup where they agreed to pardon the pair.

The decision effectively means the two players are now allowed to train with the rest of the team and are now available for Sunday’s NetOne OneWallet Cup semi-final tie against How Mine at Mandava if selected to play.

Mubaiwa, however, maintained they have given the players a strong warning and emphasised that if they repeated the same offence within the next three seasons, strong disciplinary measures would be taken.

“We all agreed what happened at the training ground that day was not good for football.
“We had set September 4 for a disciplinary hearing, but the coach was not around when the suspension was done. Fortunately, we had a chance to meet the technical team and I am sure the same things we were going to discuss on September 4 are the same as we tackled at that meeting.

“So these guys have been pardoned for now but we have given them a warning because we don’t want to see such things happening again. If it was in the courts of law then what we have done is like we have handed a wholly suspended sentence effective for the next three years.

“They are now expected back in training and it’s up to the coaches if they want to select them in the team for any of the upcoming games. We considered many things in coming up with the decision.

“This was the first time such a thing had happened involving the players. These guys depend on football for their livelihood and if they don’t play it will obviously affect them and their families. Remember we had said they were not allowed anywhere near training ground but again that would affect their physique and match fitness.

“So we relaxed those conditions after the players themselves showed remorse and apologised for their actions. They have said emotions were high but we also reminded them that football is about love and friendship.

“We also stressed the need to protect the brand and the image of the sponsors and other stakeholders. We explained this to all the players.
“We have also told the coach and his technical team to make sure that they maintain high level discipline in the team because they are the ones who spend most of the time with the players,” said Mubaiwa.

The return of the two players will certainly be a big morale-booster in the DeMbare camp which had been shattered by clashes and misunderstandings in the last two weeks.

The events in their camp had left their brand and the image of their principal sponsors, BancABC, compromised and Mubaiwa said they needed to retain the confidence of their financiers .

Dynamos are gunning for a fourth straight championship under Pasuwa and are currently top of the table with 39 points from 21 games.
They are also in the running for honours in the US$500 000 NetOne OneWallet Cup where they are set to clash with How Mine in the semi-finals this Sunday at Mandava.