Angry Nyandarua storm out of Inter-County Games

Nyandarua has withdrawn its entire contingent from the Kenya Youth Inter-County Games in Siaya County after their men’s football team was disqualified by the Executive Committee for indiscipline.

The team was scheduled to face Kisumu at the Siaya County stadium in the quarter final on Tuesday a day after they advanced into the last eight following their controversial victory over Kitui.

The game against Kitui was drawn level 1-1 after regulation time with the match being halted for a lengthy period following the dismissal of a Nyandarua player by the referee following an infringement.

It is unclear under what circumstances he was sent off and this prompted a furore in the Nyandarua camp disputing the red card.

Irate supporters allegedly attacked the centre referee soon after prompting the match to be halted. Once the match resumed after almost an hour of stoppage, Nyandarua secured their passage on penalties.

The Inter-County Games Executive deliberated and recommended the expulsion of the Nyandarua County men’s football team ahead of their clash against Kisumu at the Siaya stadium.

It is still unclear whether official communication on the same was dispensed to the team as they made their way to the match venue eyeing a semifinal berth.

Fully clad in their team colors, Nyandarua was instructed by organizers to leave the pitch and they declined, prompting their forceful expulsion with officials physically evicting the players and their technical bench one by one.

“I do not understand where the animosity with the officials is coming from. We came prepared, we did match analysis and everything to play the quarterfinal with Kisumu. We were at the centre of the pitch waiting for kick off before the commentator announced we have been disqualified.

“On following up the matter, we heard that our player was red carded for indiscipline and that meant the punishment would be carried by the whole team.

“We are wondering what rule is that according to football and we want the tournament organisers to tell us what the issue is,” the distraught Nyandarua team captain, Dennis Mureithi complained.

“According to what I know, a team can be given up to three red cards and its only those involved who are banned, not the entire team. We played penalties in the darkness in our previous game and God helped us prevail so we cannot understand what this is about,” the incensed skipper added.

Mureithi cited the recent EPL game between Chelsea and Manchester City where two players of the latter, Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho were sent off for a touchline melee saying the teams were not banned from playing their next games.

“We came here prepared to play against Kisumu, we did everything that was required before the match only to hear the commentator announcing that the team has been disqualified because of indiscipline,” Nyandarua football team’s captain Dennis Mureithi lamented to Citizen Digital.

The team manager read mischief in the County Executive Committee’s decision led by Magdaline Ndutu, an official from Kirinyaga County’s sports committee.

“Our team was disqualified because one player was given a red card contrary to what happens in international matches.  The commentator advocated we be disqualified because of our political differences,” the official who was decked in a replica yellow away kit of English Premier League club, Chelsea, added.

The disqualification prompted a stern reaction by Nyandarua’s senior management who opted to withdraw the entire contingent that included the women’s footballers and the men andwomen’s volleyball teams.

The games conclude on Sunday.

Report by Lillian Osiemo, Charity Wanja and Bernard Ndong