FIFA REJECTS ‘BULL’S APPEAL

MBABANE – The derby mayhem case is far from over. The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has rejected Highlanders’ appeal against the disciplinary committee’s (DC) ruling on the matter. Highlanders were found guilty of causing the abandonment of their game against traditional rivals Mbabane Swallows at Somhlolo National Stadium on December 7 last year.

At the time of the abandonment, Highlanders were trailing 1-4 with barely seven minutes of regulation time remaining on referee Mbongiseni Fakudze’s watch.
The black and white outfit was subsequently charged and found guilty of causing the abandonment of the clash and were also fined a sum of E107 000
In their appeal to the world football governing body, the Mbabane giants cited a number of irregularities in the manner in which their case was tried.

However, the latest is likely to come as a blow in their quest to have the abandoned game replayed. National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu confirmed the development yesterday.
“What the FIFA administration has done is simply to advise the club to appeal directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sports where the matter could be heard,” he said.
FIFA communicated their decision through the local football mother body. Mngomezulu also explained that it could take a while before the matter is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sports, which is based in Switzerland, as the court does not only deal with football matters.

“Moreover, it will depend on how fast Highlanders react and also on the fact that how fast are the necessary documents made ready for the case. In such instances, all the paperwork from the initial case when the matter was first heard to its last stage need to be forwarded to the Court of Arbitration for Sports,” he said.

Highlanders’ legal representative in the issue, Martin ‘Internash’ Dlamini expressed his disappointment at the manner in which his team’s cases have been handled.
“We are yet to receive the reasons of the Appeals Board verdict on the cards saga, for instance, and one wonders how we can be expected to move forward under such circumstances. As I see it, football leaders need to sit down and come up with a solution on how this issue can be handled once and for all,” said Dlamini.   

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