If anyone thought that this new Exco, will rescue our game from the cartels and stem out corruption, he needs to think again, after this week saw the return of referees, convicted by a competent tribunal…and wasted no time in cooking another poisoned chalice, investigation by The Page revealed.
Tichaona Mbire, who in June last year, together with assistant, were found complicit and guilty of accepting bribes in that Herentals versus Dynamos league match at Rufaro, again, was at it, when he forced MWOS FC play 67 minutes with 10 men, after showing a red card to Tinotenda Mutyambizi, for nothing other than wearing a MWOS jersey.
Mbire, who the Norman Matemera referees committee, had put on the FIFA panel last before his scandalous officiating in that infamous match at Rufaro, put paid to his eligibility.
The matter, investigated by a tribunal found him guilty for pocketing money, a matter that came to light after a Dynamos fan, Treg, demanded his USD200 back.
It is a mystery how he was back in uniform to handle a top flight match, again.
Not only that, when he attended the referees course at the beginning of the season, it was asked to the Faith Mloyi led committee, who and how he was invited to the course.
Mloyi, and her much maligned team, who are still in office because some members of the Exco want the status quo to perpetuate their corrupt cartel practices, failed to give an explanation as to how Mbire was back in black.
As if nature conspired to embarrass Zifa, for such a diabolical practice, he stoked more fires by poor officiating and a red an undeserving red card to Mutyambizi in the 26th minute of that game.
It was ugly.
It is uglier for the Zifa Exco who are ignoring sense and fair play for selfish egoism in allowing the referees committee to further damage the reputation of the game.
As if that the Mbire shenanigans were not bad enough, the most famous or infamous Matthew Dingo, who must not be anywhere near football, actually attended a NRSL referees course over the weekend.
Yes, Dingo akabudikira futi. Ehe kuti agoridza futi in the NRSL after his Karoi versus Scottland shenanigans at Chikangwe lasy year, attracted revulsion and everything else.
Who on earth invited Dingo to a referees course? And why? Is it Matemera, his mentor or Mloyi and her squad?
And the Zifa looked the other way?
Surely, Dingo, of all people, jury and all else, can still muster the guts to want to be a referee?
Off course, we know he is a soldier, but integrity is more important than anything else.
Then, you want to have corporates and stakeholder partners, when corrupt officials are rewarded in the fashion of Dingo and Mbire?
If this doesn’t embarrass president Nqobile Magwizi, it is worrying.
Or is he even aware that he is presiding over a time bomb that will detonate on all the good work he has been doing since January 25?
It does not matter how anyone wants to look at it, weekly of the nine PSL matches, five and at times six of them have served horror shows for clubs and fans.
Ask the clubs and fans, munonyara.
It has been so bad, that even the referees committee, in all their madness, have been embarrassed.
Yet they have remained in situ.
In all my 20 plus years of covering football, I have never seen an FA that has been arrogant in dealing with referees, reaping anything.
Never has a referees committee shone of public confidence, ever succeeded.
People looked the other way with the Matemera Normalization Committee madness, but we all know how it panned out last season.
The PSL was decided by referees. The NRSL was decided by the same men and watching the Mloyi continue cliff-wards is as dangerous as leaving keys to a Ferrari in the hands of teenagers on Harare potholed Harare roads.
If Magwizi is serious about his leadership, he must disband the referees committee now.
Allowing it a week longer in office to further erode what’s left of the game, is as bad as parading naked.
Our football is all that we have and allowing a few maggots to spoil it, is as bad peeing into the compound well.
When the referees can not be trusted, even the better ones, who have already done well, will be targeted for ridicule.
Can our game afford that?
Is it why we have some Exco members already behaving like they own the nation and that the president is theirs, alone and councillors muppets in suits?
The EGM is too far to address this, and worse the matter is not even on the agenda, already circulated.
Saturday is too far away to address this. Ngatingonyaraiwo veduwe….
Worse, when the Exco is growing some fictitious powers that they have the audacity to talk the assembly members off.
Do they even know that the assembly members are the ultimate authority, with the Exco, only exercising delegated power from them. It is not the other way.
Worse, the Exco aren’t members of Zifa, they’re simply ex-offio. So where are they borrowing the wild pig balls to parade in combato?
Don’t play polo with football. Never play politics with referees. If you have the wrong referees committee, there is no miracle to having good referees.
By the way if you want to see miracles, do not go to church, come to football.
There is no sexual polity in that. Nor is there assumptive intelligence. Fix the leaking roof, to save the house.
A cow doesn’t know the value of its tail until it is cut off.
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