It is very telling that the Zifa, whose president is away on FIFA business, at a Congress in Paraguay, have decided to cherry pick three referees for punishment, on account of poor performance.
Acting president, Kenny Ndebele, who is also the de facto Chief of the referees committee, decided to crack the whip on Tichaona Mbire (6 games) , Nelson Meke(4) and Lawrence Zimondi(4), when the Zifa president is away, effectively telling the public that it is in fact, Nqobile Magwizi, who didn’t want to act on errant officiating.
A smart case of an acting president making a signature decision, that couldn’t be made by the president.
So Magwizi ndiye asingadi nemaref ake ka…kungobva kwake vabva varohwa musoro kkkk.
Fair enough, this Exco has grown itself into demi gods, pissing on the constitution with professorial efficacy, behaving long like the assembly owe them a four year living.
Maybe, they do, if details of rabid conversation in the Zifa Assembly WhatsApp group, whose thread The Page captured, are to be belived.(more on that later)
But whatever was Ndebele’s decision to effect suspension on the three referees, the bigger picture is that they’re just a smokescreen.
The referees house is on fire and no amount of targeted and framed assaults on these three referees, would solve the problem.
If, as evidenced by the letters of suspension, these three officials are accused of a performance not beffiting top flight officiating, then those charged with training and appointing them, must be accountable.
But then again, we have a problem were Magwizi is happy with the performance of the referees and selection of the referees committee, as explained by his unwillingness to act on them, leaving Ndebele with the onerous task of acting when is in Paraguay.
The Page can reveal that these three officials, while guilty of poor performances in the matches referenced, they’re suffering for other alleged sins.
It interesting to note that a ref who made a mistake of not sending off Tino Benza is being suspended, not for various noted and minuted wrong calls he made or failed to make in the game, but for not sending the Herentals captain, whose father owns the team, which the cartel running the referees, want stopped this season, by any means possible.
Herentals is one of the four clubs targeted to be punished, with Innocent Benza, the biggest target.
One Tich Tigere, who made an error in a week one match involving Herentals, has been put in a “refrigerator” since.
Worse, no letter of suspension nor stated length. Not even a hearing but, the boy has just not been appointed again, since.
And The Page understands he will go for six months, frozen. His crime. Benza and Herentals.
Akaita munyama kuridzira team isingadiwi. Ndebele’s hate for Herentals is very chequered and The Students suffered some disciplinary battles against the Ndebele fronted PSL in the past.
About 13 referees have consistently performed badly, with some of their actions or lack thereof, so bad that they’re corruption with a wicked smile.
Yet, from the list collated by The Page, reading from commissioners’ reports, none have been affected, let alone had written warnings against them, from the referees committee.
This move, by Ndebele, while good, in circumstances where referees have handled matches badly, must not be seen to have been results of weaponized analysis.
What is clear is that we have a wrong referees committee, which explains why Josh Tigere, the referees manager, makes the appointments and not the committee.
Surely, the Faith Mloyi chaired phony committee can be believed to be a referees leadership, which unfortunately are not well equipped to nurse an organization that suffered skills and integrity hemorrhage, last season under Norman Matemera, who presided over the most corrupt system ever, in refereeing history.
None of the members appointed into that committee have the skills-set to undo the damage, before we can talk of referees performance.
The Zifa need to swallow their sold pride and dis-appoint the entire referees committee and put in a competent leadership which can then preside over proper training of officials.
The training is skewed, quality control never monitored and appointments have effectively become a highest bidders’ market auction.
There is a clear and known pattern and set of referees, who officiate known and targeted teams, even if it means having to travel the longest distances.
That explains why referees who have robbed teams goals, dished non existent red cards and made calls that decided matches, have not been suspended.
These matches are played in full glare of people and majority of incidences are blank on YouTube for posterity.
Some of them are so embarrassing that when clubs begin to mention that the referees cartels have teams that they want to win the league championship.
And what has happened to those referees who butchered the game from week one to six? When are they meeting their fate?
The Page was sent a list of the teams, allegedly leaked from a meeting, that sadly included some referees, which should be protected, pushed to the line to win and consigned to relegation.
But whatever the suspension of the three referees is supposed to correct, it is not performance.
Stakeholders were left worried as to the criteria used to merit punishment and severity meted.
Is there a set standard that an offence of a certain gravity equals a number of matches out?
A scan through a list of a template, allegedly used by the referees committee, doesn’t clearly show the criteria.
It is at the whim of the committee or Ndebele?
And crucially, all this is happening when the Zifa assembly is not constituted and one wonders whether Magwizi is happy to continue as the Normalization Committee 2.0.
Where is the Zifa assembly?
When the shadow of the tree is bent, straighten the tree not the shadow.
@ChizuzuHope X(formerly Twitter) WHATSAPP +263715001628