TNM disappointed with violence: challenges Sulom to deal with underlying issues

Sponsors of Malawi’s elite league Telecom Networks Malawi (TNM) Limited have expressed great disappointment of the emergence of acts of violence in some recent matches including one on Wednesday involving Kamuzu Barracks and Silver Strikers.

Ugly scenes of violence were witnessed during and after the game that left a Kamuzu Barracks supporter injured while others were beaten by alleged Silver Strikers angry supporters.

Kamuzu Barracks Team Manager Francis Shaba also alleged his players were showered with insults while referees were during half time barred from using dressing room by alleged Silver Strikers supporters.

The officiating had to be escorted using a police vehicle famously called ‘Black Maria’ or ‘Chimbaula’.

The supporters became furious wheni referee Chidziwitso Simbi awarded Kamuzu Barracks a penalty believed not to be a genuine penalty according to Silver Strikers officials backed by various soccer commentators who watched the game.

TNM Sponsorship Manager Limbani Nsapato exclusively told Nyasa Times on Friday that as sponsors, they are not happy and are highly disappointed with what happened on Wednesday.

“As a sponsor, TNM has always advocated for and reiterated its position on a violence-free Super League” wrote Nsapato in an email response to Nyasa Times.

He therefore called upon Super League of Malawi (Sulom) and all other relevant stakeholder to fight hard in curbing the malpractice and on underlying issues leading to violent acts.

“TNM would like to call upon SULOM and other key stakeholders to steadfastly address the underlying issues leading to violent acts.

“As the 2016 TNM Super League reaches an exciting moment with clubs making a go at the big prize whilst others are fighting the relegation scare, emotions are bound to rise but we appeal to fans and football administrators to exercise restraint and tolerance,” said Nsapato.

He also touched on the issue of officiation which has become the talk of the town and attracted heavy criticism throughout the season.

Nsapato said they hope the officiating personnel will strive to remain impartial to ensure the beautiful game of football wins.

Regardless of all the irregularities, he however described the 2016-2017 TNM Super League as one of the most exciting seasons in recent years.

“The level of competitiveness has been mind-blowing and with five games to go before the end of the season, we still have five teams with potential to grab the championship. We look forward to an exciting finale which is hard to predict,” concluded Nsapato.

Meanwhile, Super League of Malawi is yet to come up with a verdict on what happened on Tuesday as they are still gathering information.

Sulom together with Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has done acommendable job in punishing clubs and and individuals found to be on the wrong side by handing them hefty fines.

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