Chiyangwa blames referees for violence

ZIFA president and referees committee chairman Philip Chiyangwa has blamed poor officiating for violence that has erupted at football matches in recent months. Chiyangwa said he will hold a meeting with all referees tomorrow in Harare to stem the rot adding that he will use the "crisis" meeting as the starting point of restoring normalcy in local refereeing.

"I have called a crisis meeting on Monday with all the referees and I want to tell them to get their act together. We would not be having this problem of violence if referees were officiating well at games. There has been poor officiating and it is time it comes to an end," said Chiyangwa.

Local football had been operating without a referees committee for the better part of the year following the ejection of Edzai Kasinauyo after match fixing accusations and the failed dissolution of Zifa and the aborted formation of Nafaz also compounded the situation.

PSL took over the appointment of referees after the failed dissolution of Zifa, and it is now being done by a Zifa staffer. Several teams have been raising complaints over poor officiating with Chicken Inn refusing to pay match officials after their match against FC Platinum which they lost 0-1 claiming the referees were biased.

Chicken Inn officials nearly came to blows with centre man Thomas Masaa at the end of that game. Caps have also reportedly complained that Thabani Bamala officiated in all their matches each time they travelled to Bulawayo.

Matters came to a head last weekend when fans invaded the pitch and had running battles with the police following the clash between Highlanders and Chicken Inn at Barbourfields last Sunday. The myriad of complaints raised by fans and teams alike had reached a crescendo that Zifa could not ignore and on Thursday appointed the committee headed by Chiyangwa.

Other members of the committee include Gladmore Muzambi, vice-chairperson, Kainos Mavhuna, Japhet Mufiri, Thabani Mkantjo and Musa Ntonga. The absence of a referees committee meant transgressions by match officials went unpunished.