CAPS unite with DeMbare to slag off referees

By Augustine Hwata

DYNAMOS and CAPS United invaded the City of Kings at the weekend, however, the chaos that engulfed their matches has not only painted a bad picture of the Premiership, but triggered a wave of conspiracy theories in a tight championship race that could go to the wire. 

Zimbabwe international midfielder, Hardlife Zvirekwi, says CAPS United emerged out of the chaos at Barbourfields on Sunday feeling they had been robbed and betrayed by the referees who handled their explosive Premiership battle against Highlanders.

The mayhem at Barbourfields mirrored the disturbances at Luveve on Saturday when Dynamos fans rained missiles on the pitch, questioning some of the decisions made by referee Hardlife Ndazi in their team’s shock 0-1 loss to How Mine.

DeMbare team manager Richard Chihoro claimed on Sunday that the referee’s performance was so biased it became clear that he was on a mission to make life as difficult as possible for his players.

CAPS United played the entire second half with 10 men after defensive rock, Arnold Chivheya, was sent off before the break in a chaotic match in which referee Philani Ncube awarded them a penalty and then changed his decision following the intervention of the fourth official.

While DeMbare collapsed to defeat, a gallant Green Machine battled on for a very big point and many neutrals believe their gritty performance at Barbourfields, in which they were the better team for long periods, deserved far better rewards than just a point.

But was there more to what met the eye in the City of Kings at the weekend?

There are those who now believe, after the controversial way that Bosso conceded goals against the two giants in Harare — the DeMbare goal at Rufaro coming deep in time added on and the Green Machine winner coming after scorer Leonard Fiyado had strayed into an off-side position — it was expected that there would be a backlash in Bulawayo.

Bosso picked just one point in those matches, where their fans believe they deserved four points with a win over DeMbare and a draw against Makepekepe, and that both matches were handled by Harare referees added an ironic attachment to the controversy.

Questions are now being asked if the referees who handled the matches involving Dynamos and CAPS United in Bulawayo on Saturday and Sunday could have been influenced, in some way, by an outcry that Bosso were given a raw deal when they came to the capital for their meetings against the two giants?

“We do not know if it is poor officiating or there is a plot to make us lose the race,” Chihoro told The Herald on Sunday.

“Maybe there is another team in the championship race that is being given favours but in the end this does not help our football.”

To his credit, Ncube was brave enough to award CAPS United a spot kick when Rahman Kutsanzira went down at Barbourfields on Sunday, which should eliminate any doubts about his impartiality but was the fourth official the right person, in the circumstances, to make the binding decision?

Zvirekwi said they were given a raw deal on Sunday.

“I think the referee made some very poor decisions which denied us a positive result in the end,” the Zimbabwe international said.

“The lasting moment was when he denied us a penalty.

“We should have been awarded that penalty because the referee was right on the spot.

“If the assistant referee then thought that our player was off-side, why did he come to take his position in readiness for the penalty?

“He should have remained on the off-side position.”

Assistant referee, Brighton Nyika, raised his flag up for off-side, in what appeared to be a close call, as Kutsanzira raced clear but referee Ncube did not see the raised flag and followed play, leading to the incident in the penalty area that resulted in him pointing to the spot.

Somehow, Nyika did not keep his flag raised, which has led some to question if he was really convinced that Kutsanzira was off-side, and he raced to his spot, on the goal area, for the penalty to be taken, giving the signal that he agreed with the referee’s decision.

But the Bosso players had seen his flag and protested, leading to the intervention of the fourth official, Bekezela Makeka, and after consultations, the decision to give CAPS United the penalty was nullified and a free-kick was awarded to the hosts.

Angry CAPS United fans reacted by throwing missiles onto the pitch.

“The referee succumbed to pressure from the Highlanders players and fans and denied us the penalty,” said Zvirekwi.

“We wanted to get maximum points from Bulawayo but some of the decisions affected us and even the red card on Chivheya was not correct.

“If we had won the game, then we could have eased into a more comfortable position on the log now.”

While Highlanders will feel the football gods smiled at them, this time around after they complained that Fiyado was in an off-side position when he struck the winning goal for Makepekepe in the capital last month, Zvirekwi feels they did not get a helping hand from referees at home.

The CAPS United star feels it was Bosso who were getting favourable decisions at the National Sports Stadium leading to protests, from the home team’s fans, who angled their anger on the referee.

“We scored clear goals in Harare yet Highlanders were awarded some dubious free-kicks and scored their goal from one such position,” said Zvirekwi.

“We are not going for the championship yet but the aim is to finish in a much better position than last season.

“For now we will take each game as it comes and right now focus should be on the next game against Hwange.”

CAPS United are unbeaten in six games and Zvirekwi will be away from CAPS United for two weeks as he travels with the Warriors for the Cosafa Cup in Zambia.

The former Gunners player has picked up his life after the debacle that saw him losing his passport when the Warriors made a stop-over in Kenya on their way to a Group G, World Cup African qualifier against Guinea last month.

“I should be away from the team for some time but when I come back, I have to fight hard to reclaim a regular place. Right now competition is very tough and the spirit is high because we have been getting positive results in the previous matches.

“We now have a competitive side and should keep working hard,” said Zvirekwi.

CAPS United are now four points behind leaders Harare City, who are on 31 points, while Bosso and Chicken Inn are a point behind. Harare City shot to the top of the log after a 2-1 victory over Hwange on Saturday and their unassuming coach Bigboy Mawiwi admitted that they should now start feeling the heat.

“Being at the top of the log is just a position,” said Mawiwi. “I will talk to the guys at training tomorrow (today) to remain focused and we are not going to put pressure on ourselves because we need to enjoy the game and play with consistency.

“I attribute the good work so far to team-work and unity of purpose while our executive (led by Leslie Gwindi) has been very supportive. For now there is no need to bring new players because I think we are okay. But we need to improve on some of the grey areas like in attack.

“We are creating chances, but the ratio at which we are converting is low. Defensively, we had played well, but the game away in Hwange greatly exposed us although we managed to recover in the last match,” said Mawiwi. The Herald