Silver Strikers coach, De Jongh censures Wanderers for absconding second leg of Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal

Known for his militant approach to poor standards of football in Malawi — administratively and technically — Silver Strikers coach, Pieter De Jongh has condemned the decision by Mighty Wanderers to abscond the two sides’ second leg of the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal at Kamuzu Stadium on Wednesday.

The Dutch said it was a bad decision by the Nomads not to show up for the game and bad market in the sector of football considering that Airtel Top 8 is one of the elite cups in Malawi and Airtel was a big sponsor.

“It is bad and this bears negative impact on the football of Malawi to abscond from the game as it dents the image of the country more especially on football sector.

“As a team, they were supposed to respect the rules of football,” he told the media after the referee blew the whistle having waited for the Nomads on the pitch for 30 minutes.

A press release from Football Association of Malawi (FAM) says as per article 10.6 of the 2023 Airtel Top 8 Rules and Regulation, the referee waited for the 30 minutes before blowing the whistle to end the match by by the same article Wanderers have lost the match 2-0.

“This means that Mighty Mukuru Wanderers have lost the tie 4-0 on aggregate as they were also declared 2-0 losers in the first leg for causing match abandonment.

“Silver strikers have qualified for the semifinal and will play against MAFCO FC on Sunday December 10, 2023 at the Bingu National Stadium. FAM will communicate on further action on the matter in line with the 2023 Airtel Top 8 Rules and Regulations.”

Wanderers are challenging all four counts of the charge sheet which FAM laid against them as regards to the abandonment of the first leg of the Airtel Top 8 on September 23 that also led to violence and have been losing the appeals they have made.

A determination by FAM competitions & marketing committee found the Nomads guilty to all counts laid against them right from the start of match abandonment; failure to prevent their supporters from displaying of unsporting behaviours and bringing the game of football and the name of the sponsor into disrepute contrary to Article 67 of the FAM Disciplinary Code.

The committee thus maintains after considering the nature of abandonment the match has been awarded to Silver Strikers at 2-0 despite that the referee ended the match at 2-1 — in line with the Rules and Regulations of the Airtel Top 8 competition.

For the actions of the supporters in their involvement or inciting violence a fine of K500,000 has been imposed or a ban as per the discretion of the Committee and a further K2 million fine for bringing the game of football into disrepute contrary to Article 13 (2) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Nomads argue that the determination was not made in the spirit of fair play having noted that the cause of the matter was a bad decision by the referee during their first leg match.

In the dying minutes of the first leg at 1-1, the referee Godfrey Nkhakananga clearly blew for handball and as Wanderers defenders relaxed, Silver players went ahead towards goal and scored.

Nkhakananga changed his mind and blew for goal, prompting Wanderers players to protest the decision and was compounded by the invasion of the pitch by the Nomads’ officials, who reportedly influenced the players not to continue with play.

Speaking to Malawi News Agency (MANA) after the referee blew the whistle at Kamuzu Stadium, FAM competition &  communications director, Gomezgani Zakazaka said it was unfortunate that the Nomads didn’t show up for the game.

“We do see this happening but not at this top level of the competition,” he said. “When we are playing in the lower leagues, some of these things happened. We don’t expect that we are able to display such malpractice because such behaviours depress football in the country,” Zakazaka said.

Meanwhile, Silver Strikers coach De Jongh said they will still move forward looking for their next match against Mafco, saying they have to prepare well since Mafco has quality players.

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