Stewards of shame cost K’Ogalo, Ingwe dear

Community-based giants, champions Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards are counting the cost of stewards of shame after the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) instituted disciplinary charges against them following the latest incidents of hooliganism that marred their games against Tusker and Ulinzi Stars.

The country’s most popular clubs will present their cases before KPL’s Independent Disciplinary and Complaints Committee (IDCC) on Thursday after being charged for the fracas that saw Gor’s game halted for over 15 minutes and Leopard’s clash abandoned altogether.

In both cases, the finger of blame has been pointed to club stewards -the men hired by the teams to maintain order- for sparking the outbreak of violence that has already cost Leopards their game against Ulinzi that was level at 1-1 before the game aborted when the soldiers were awarded an 81st minute penalty in Mumias on Saturday.

KPL has levelled four charges against Ingwe including the allegation that a steward “confronted the Centre Referee in protest of the awarding of the penalty kick which led to spectators starting to throw stones, alcohol bottles and other objects to Ulinzi Stars FC technical bench.”

Ingwe player, Eugene Wambulwa is separately charged with getting into an altercation with Ulinzi’s Geoffrey Kokoyo.

“That, AFC Leopards SC caused the abandonment of the match as indicated in the Match Officials reports and in accordance with Rule 3.4 Responsibilities of Clubs (b) Abandoned Matches the match is therefore awarded to Ulinzi Stars FC on a 2-0 basis in accordance to Rule 3.7 Abandoned Matches and 3.8 Forfeited Matches,” KPL posted on their website on Tuesday.

Responding to the charges; AFC  Leopards  co-chairman, Dan  Mule, faulted  KPL  for  awarding  Ulinzi the win from  the aborted match declaring they will appeal losing the point that left them third on 18 points, three adrift of leaders Mathare United.

“We rebuke hooliganism in the stadium because it’s something that’s not good. We are  looking for  those who caused havoc and take some measures against them although KPL  should also help and see to it that hooliganism is dealt with accordingly,” Mule told Citizen Digital.

He then claimed application of disciplinary measures was skewed against the rival community based giants.

“KPL has  been  favouring  some  clubs  when it  comes  to  fans  misbehaviour   while  on  the  other  hand  taking  harsh   penalties  on  AFC  Leopards  and  Gor Mahia  which  is  not  in order. It is serves partisan interests the way this whole issue is handled,” the chairman underscored.

He insisted it was unfair to his club that KPL “rushed to the decision” yet it has summoned Leopards’ officials to appear before the disciplinary commission for a hearing on the same.

“We are going to meet them on Thursday but if they are not going to be fair; then we will definitely appeal,” Mule asserted.

-K’Ogalo investigating-

On Monday, champions K’Ogalo who are eighth on the log on 14, seven behind the front runners, were also charged for the trouble that broke out in their 1-0 defeat to Tusker on April 16 that saw their Brazilian coach, Ze Maria, lose for the first time since he took charge.

“after the final whistle a Gor Mahia spectator entered the field of play and assaulting the Assistant Referee in front of Gor Mahia stewards,” part of KPL’s charge sheet reads.

Gor chairman, Ambrose Rachier informed Citizen Digital the club has stepped up investigations to unmask the culprit who broke into the pitch and attacked assistant referee, George Mwangi after he awarded the Brewers a debatable 71st minute penalty.

The probe will cover the role K’Ogalo steward (s) played in the pitch invasion that sparked the stoppage before calm was restored.

“Each and every club should have their own stewards. We are going to look into that because we don’t know this man yet. We want to find out who he is and how he got there in the first place.

“We are studying photographs and on getting him, we will try to find out how he got to the field and what the stewards were doing since they ought to have stopped him,” Rachier declared.

The Gor chief hailed the Green Army supporters for not engaging in a full scale invasion that should have seen their team docked points like Leopards adding he was in contact KPL’s head of security, GMT Ottieno, to establish whether their stewards were involved.

“At least Gor people did not invade the field; it was only one person who went to attack the referee. We did not cause any abandonment. Our case is different.

“We have trained them and there is not much we can do for the time being unless we come to the bottom of it. We need to know who this person is and how this incident came to be. We are gathering evidence to put forward what happened, but we are committed to fighting hooliganism,” he emphasised.

Former Harambee Stars coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee pointed an accusing finger to the police for failing to prosecute those caught engaging in violence.

“If a person is undoubtedly spotted throwing objects or attacking others, they should definitely face the law,” he asserted.

On the other hand Muhoroni Youth chairman, Moses Adagala, opined referees are responsible.

“What is disturbing is how referees are handling matches, especially this year. I think we have a lot of problems. I watched Gor against Tusker where the second assistant raised the flag to award Tusker a penalty which was uncalled for.

“It seems there are a lot of problems which are inciting our fans. The federation should look at these issues and appoint experienced referees to officiate big matches. Young referees need a lot of training. It does not mean when you pass the Cooper Test you qualify to be a referee, some referees are even scared of the fans,” Adagala charged.

-Referees defended-

Tusker FC captain; James Situma defended referees claiming Gor and AFC are given special treatment when their fans cause trouble which sustains the vice.

“Referees are human beings, they make mistakes but it’s interesting that these mistakes become mistakes when they are disadvantaging the two clubs. If a referee blunders in a Gor –Tusker match to Gor’s advantage, the match will go on but if the opposite happens there will be trouble,” he alleged.

“They (authorities) should be responsible for security. We were shocked to see a steward who was supposed to maintain sobriety in the Leopards versus Ulinzi match storming to the pitch to cause trouble,” the former Sofapaka defender added.

For sport, a steward is defined as “an official appointed to supervise arrangements or keep order at a large public event, for example a sporting event.” but it seems the Gor and Leopards variety have crossed over to the dark side.

Report by Jacob Icia, Godfrey Ashiali, John Kyanda and Mutwiri Mutuota