Bosso bombshell

Highlanders Football Club has made sensational claims that their abandoned Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final match against Simba Bhora was rigged, accusing match officials of orchestrating the chaos that led to the game's premature end. The dramatic allegations were included in a dossier submitted to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) disciplinary committee, as Bosso distanced themselves from any responsibility for the abandonment.

The match, played at Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva on September 22, 2024, was abandoned under controversial circumstances, but Highlanders argue that the wild events of the day bordered on "insanity" and were part of a larger conspiracy to fix the match in Simba Bhora's favor.

In their submission, Highlanders placed the blame squarely on referee Cecil Gwezera and assistant referee Zondzi Ngosana, both of whom have since been suspended by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Referees Committee. Bosso is now calling for a replay of the quarter-final, citing precedents in global football where games were replayed due to errors or manipulations by match officials.

"Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva was a crime scene on the 22nd of September 2024," Highlanders wrote in their submission. "The victims were Highlanders Football Club and football in general. The known perpetrators of the crime were the match officials, particularly the referee, one assistant referee, and the fourth official."

Bosso's claims come as the PSL disciplinary committee continues to investigate the events surrounding the match, and Highlanders are urging the committee to take strong action against what they describe as a "sham" and a "scam."
Challenging the Referee's Authority

Highlanders argued that the decisions made by the match officials were not in line with the spirit of the game, making it unjust to accept the referee's ruling as final. They cited international examples where matches were ordered to be replayed due to officiating errors, including the infamous South Africa vs. Senegal World Cup qualifier and a Belgian top-flight league match between Anderlecht and Genk.

Both cases, Bosso noted, demonstrated that a referee's decision can be overturned when it is made contrary to fair play principles.

"For that decision, it is not correct to argue that the decision of the referee is final," Highlanders argued. "The decision of the referee is final if it is made in terms of the laws of the game, and where phantom decisions are made in favor of one team against the spirit of the game, the decision cannot be final."

Bosso went on to claim that "penalties were manufactured," describing the officiating as an affront to the integrity of football.

A Call for Justice

Highlanders attached a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) related to a dispute involving Burkina Faso, South Africa, Senegal, and Cape Verde as part of their argument that the match should be replayed. They emphasized that keeping the result from a manipulated match would undermine the principles of Fair Play and give an unfair advantage to the team that benefited from the officiating errors.

"If it has been established that the outcome of a match has been influenced in a manner contrary to sporting ethics because the match was fixed, it's reasonable to say that it was the duty of the organizing committee to manage the situation," Highlanders wrote. "On the contrary, to keep a manipulated result would give an unmerited advantage to the team that benefitted from it, and it would obviously be incompatible with Fair Play."

In their closing remarks, Highlanders urged the disciplinary committee to be guided by these principles to preserve the integrity of the Chibuku Super Cup and prevent future manipulation.

"There is no right-minded person who does not see the injustice that has been done to Highlanders Football Club and the competition as a whole," they concluded.

The PSL disciplinary committee is expected to make a ruling on the case in the coming days, with Highlanders adamant that only a replay will ensure justice is served.