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Sharuko On Saturday
I HAVE always admired lawyers, they make no apologies that they believe they are a special breed, and you only have to go into a courtroom to hear them address their counterparts as “my learned colleague,” to appreciate how they attach a lot of value to the nobility of their distinguished profession.

Law was my first love, as a profession when I was a child, but we don’t always get what we dream of, do we, otherwise we would all be Floyd Mayweather Junior, waiting for another 12-round show in the ring, and banking the biggest pay cheque ever given for a day’s work, or is it 36 minutes work, in the history of sport.

Of course, lawyers, or those who have law degrees, tend to become the leaders of their countries — from President Mugabe to President Mandela — and 25 of them, including Barack Obama, have made it to the White House, among the 44 Presidents that the United States has had to date.

Even though I’m not a lawyer, I could not help but find that there was something wrong about ZIFA’s statement, this week, about the replaying of the 2015 Independence Cup final between Dynamos and FC Platinum, abandoned in darkness at the National Sports Stadium last Saturday.

“After wide consultations and deliberations, the Zimbabwe Football Association has seen it fit to order a replay of the 2015 Independence Cup Final,” ZIFA said in a statement.

“WE HAVE TAKEN COGNISANCE THAT THE ABANDONMENT OF THE MATCH WAS A RESULT OF FORCE MAJEURE (UNFORESEEN EVENTS), THEREFORE NONE OF THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS WAS AT FAULT.

“This is a new game altogether and it will be played for a full 90 minutes. Consequently, the 1-0 position in favour of Dynamos obtained prior to the premature end of the match is hereby nullified.”

Force Majeure?

Really?

Force Majeure is French for “greater force” and, under international law, it refers to “an irresistible force, or unforeseen event, beyond the control of a State making it materially impossible to fulfil an international obligation.”

The Free Dictionary describes Force Majeure as “an overwhelming or irresistible force,” or “an event or effect that may be considered IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL, OR ANTICIPATE, a NATURAL and UNAVOIDABLE CATASTROPHE that interrupts the expected course of events.”

Even though I’m not a lawyer, it’s clear there is more to Force Majeure than just simplifying it, as ZIFA tried to do, by describing it as “unforeseen events”, so that it suits their verdict, that a replay, with a game that was 1-0 in favour of Dynamos when it was abandoned in the 65th minute, should start from scratch with the two clubs goalless.

How can a power blackout, or load-shedding, something that can be controlled by man — as happened when we saw the power being restored to the stadium later that evening — be deemed “an overwhelming or irresistible force” or “an event or effect that may be considered impossible to control or anticipate, a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events?”

If you live in this country, or South Africa, which has had its fair share of load-shedding in recent months, how is it possible that you can say that a loss, or lack, of power, can certainly be deemed an “event or effect that may be considered impossible to control, OR ANTICIPATE, a natural and unavoidable catastrophe?”

Isn’t the opposite true, that there is a likelihood that power is likely to be lost, as those tasked with managing its distribution battle to manage it, rather than that you are likely to have an uninterrupted supply of power for an area, let’s say around the National Sports Stadium, for days, weeks or months without end?

Isn’t it part of good leadership, to look at the best and worst case scenarios, during the planning phase for such a grand event like the Independence Cup final, a game which usually starts very late because of other important events that precede it?

And to embrace the fact that the possible loss of power, for such a match, should be higher up the list of the things that make the worst case scenario?

Wouldn’t good leaders, in this case ZIFA who control this tournament, look at a number of possibilities of what they would do, in the event that power is lost, towards the conclusion of the game, and look at the possible alternatives or they engage those who distribute it, way in advance, to make sure that — because of the nature of the event — priority is given to that area until the big game is over?

Why didn’t our football leadership engage the ZESA guys, way in advance before the Independence Cup final, to discuss a worst case scenario — something like a fault disrupting the supply of power to the giant stadium that evening — and the need to have the best of the technicians being put on standby to ensure that there is a quick restoration of power?

OF COURSE, THESE THINGS EVEN HAPPEN ON A BIGGER STAGE

On Dec 11, 2014, the Europa League tie between Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur in Istanbul, Turkey, was suspended twice because of a floodlight failure at the Ataturk Stadium, the first 12-minute stoppage coming in the first half, and then the second coming just after the match had spilled into time added on, at the end.

Referee Stefan Johannesson led both teams off the pitch, in total darkness, after the first power failure as fans attempted to light up the stadium with their mobile phones.

A dozen minutes later, power was restored but, just as the game spilled into time added on, with Besiktas leading 1-0, there was another blackout.

The Turkish side eventually won the game 1-0 after power was restored for a second time that night, with the teams playing out the remaining few minutes.

The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event in the United States, with television viewers in excess of 100 million people, and one of the most watched sporting events in the world, with estimates of about a billion viewers.

It’s a commercial machine and a 30- second advert on CBS, who broadcast the game in the United States, can cost as much as $4 million. But even such a grand match, the showcase of commercial America and all its financial muscle, can be hit by a power outage.

On February 3, 2013, Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Franscisco 49ers, before a capacity crowd of 73 000 in the Superdome, New Orleans, was hit by a power outage for 34 minutes in the third quarter.

Power was eventually restored with the Ravens winning the game 34-31 in what is now known as the Blackout Bowl.

WHY FORCE MARJEURE DOESN’T WORK OUT FOR ME

When ZIFA decided that the Independence Cup final should be replayed, from scratch, with Dynamos and FC Platinum starting the game at 0-0, because the power failure at the giant stadium last Saturday was a result of Force Majeure, one always felt that the Glamour Boys camp will feel short-changed.

After all, they were leading 1-0 at the time the referee abandoned the game.

Rooney’s goal — which sparked a lot of happiness among their fans — now counts for nothing, all those celebrations that we saw after that goal, now means nothing, and all their heroic defending of their goal, on that difficult muddy pitch, which had kept FC Platinum from scoring for more than an hour, also count for nothing.

That patriotic family, captured by The Sunday Mail, who were at the giant stadium by 5.30 am that day for the celebrations, and stayed to watch the game, braving the rains that pounded the capital all day, have just been told if they want to watch the replay, they now have to pay $2 for the cheapest ticket.

ZIFA, of course, were in a tricky situation because, given the game did not end and a lot could have happened in the last 25 minutes, it would have been unfair to rule that FC Platinum had lost that match.

But, for ZIFA to order a replay, starting from scratch, is not only grossly unfair on Dynamos, for all the spirited efforts they put into that game, helping them to gain that crucial lead, with more than an hour of the contest played, but an insult to their shift.

If the lack, or loss, of power can be described as Force Majeure, which means that every football game affected by this needs to be replayed from scratch, what will then stop countries from manipulating their Nations Cup campaign, making sure that all their home games start at 4.30pm and, if by 6.15 pm they are losing, then the power is either switched off or is not switched on at all?

What will then stop Swaziland, for instance, from ensuring that all their home games in the 2017 Nations Cup matches, including one against our Warriors, start around 4.30pm, and if they are losing late in the second half, their technicians either just switch off the power from the stadium or simply don’t provide it at all to ensure that they get another replay, starting at 0-0?

What will stop Malawi, for example, from ensuring that all their home matches in the 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers, including one against our Warriors, start around 4.30pm, and if they are losing, late in the second half, their technicians either just switch off the power from the stadium, or simply don’t provide it at all, to ensure that they get a replay starting at 0-0?

What will stop us, for example, from ensuring that all our home matches in the 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers start around 4.30pm, and in the event that we are losing, late in the second half, our technicians just switch off the power from the stadium, or simply don’t provide it, so that we get a replay starting at 0-0?

What will stop Hwange, for example, from saying that — from now onwards — their league matches start at 4.30pm, and in the event that they are losing, late in the second half, their technicians will just switch off the power from the stadium, or simply don’t provide it at all, so that they can get a replay, starting at 0-0 on another day?

Or Triangle or Dongo Sawmill?

This foolish precedent has the potential of turning football into a lawless game, where home teams can have the power to manipulate the result of their matches whenever they are losing, by ensuring they can fall on their control of the power supply, to end a game prematurely.

Just imagine if UEFA were to adopt such a stupid stance, what would happen to their Europa and Champions League games, which are all played during the night?

Refreshingly, UEFA aren’t trapped, in the same Stone Age era, where our current football leaders find themselves operating from and at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, they know what is Force Majeure and what is not.

When ZIFA were forced to apologise to SAFA in November 2011, after a power cut at Rufaro prevented Bafana Bafana from not having their training session ahead of an international friendly against the Warriors, one would have expected that our football leaders had learnt something from that, especially the rebuke they got from their counterparts.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has sent their apology and we accept it for this misfortune,” Poobie Govindasamy, who was the Bafana Bafana head of delegation, said in a statement.

“BUT IT IS UNACCEPTABLE AS THE LIGHTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TESTED IN GOOD TIME.”

But, given the events at the giant stadium last Saturday, it’s clear they didn’t pick any lessons but, if this still surprises us, at all, when it comes to our football leaders, then maybe there is something very wrong about us.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST WAY OUT?

Of course, FC Platinum did not lose that game, far from it, and Dynamos did not win that game and the best way out should have been for the two teams to play the remaining minutes of their contest at the same venue.

Who should have borne the costs?

ZIFA should have gone to ZESA and discussed the issue with the power company to bear the costs for that replay because their failure to provide the power, as and when it was needed, was what caused this unfortunate situation.

ZESA runs a team in the domestic Premiership, which is quite a very expensive venture, and they could have been asked to foot the bill for the 25-minute replay, and the fans should have been allowed to come in for free because, after all, this remains part of their Uhuru celebrations.

When Real Madrid’s league game against Real Sociedad was called off because of a bomb scare at the Bernabeu on December 12, 2004, with two minutes and 40 seconds of regulation time, and another four minutes of time added on, left, it was because of Force Majeure.

The game was replayed on January 6, the following year, for just six minutes, forty seconds, and Madrid, even scored within that time, with Zinedine Zidane converting a penalty, for victory. That is Force Majeure, and how to handle it, not what we have seen from ZIFA and, if they can’t run just one game, what if they were the ones running the entire domestic Premiership programme?

Well, your guess is as good as mine, but when you have football leaders who only care about holding shadowy meetings to ensure that this and that board member is suspended, as is the case with Miriam Sibanda, there is always a likelihood that they will be caught out when asked to do something that is not ugly football politics.

To God Be The Glory!

Come United!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chicharitooooooooooooooooooo!

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