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Paul Mundandi Sports Reporter
CHICKEN Inn were yesterday thrown out of the Chibuku Super Cup, fined $2 000 and banned from the next edition of the tournament.

This followed their decision to walk off the field in protest against a late penalty awarded to Yadah Stars in the first round at Ascot. The Premier Soccer League Ad hoc Committee awarded the match to Yadah on a 3-0 scoreline.

Chicken Inn secretary-general Tawengwa Hara said he felt his club received a raw deal from PSL who forced them to play their home match on neutral ground.

“It’s all nonsense. These guys wrote to us asking a report of what happened during our match against Yadah in Gweru on Monday 25th (September) wanting the report by 5pm the following day.

“We responded to them. We wrote it without seeing the referee’s report, the commissioner’s report. The referee report only came on the 27th of September after we had submitted our report.

“The match commissioner’s report came on Monday, the day when they were sitting. Our report was mainly about what happened at Ascot and it was very clear that Chicken Inn did not walk off the pitch.

“The issue of walking out of the ground is out because even the referee and the match commissioner are not saying that in their reports.

“After the final whistle we did our warm down, we did not prevent the referee or Yadah to take the penalty. We did not cause the match abandonment but it was the referee.

“PSL never charged us but surprisingly the ad hoc committee, during their adjudication, put a charge to Chicken Inn Football club during their sitting.

“We were not given enough time to respond to the charge. We were ordered to give a report of what happened and not to respond to a charge. The rules of natural justice demand that you be given enough time to respond to a charge,” said Hara.

Hara said the PSL erred.

“Where the competition rules changed or amended? Is Ascot our home ground? Did the PSL consult us? We were just following the competition rules but now the world is being made to believe that we erred,” said Hara.

“There is nothing final in the world of football and that is why the rules and regulations are clear that we can follow all football channels if people are abusing the phrase that the ad hoc decision is final.

“There are a lot of avenues available in the football structures to unlock that finality.”