NAMIBIA FA ‘DEFENDS’ REFS THULANI, PETROS

MBABANE – Namibia Football Association is confident local referee Thulani Sibandze’s much publicised decision will not be reversed.

Sibandze, alongside assistant referee Petros Mbingo, are on ice following claims of allowing a ‘ghost goal’ during the penalty shoot-out of an African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier, which was won 5-4 by the Brave Warriors of Namibia ahead of Zimbabwe in Harare on July 23.

Following a push for a replay by Zimbabwe, Namibia Football Association Secretary, Barry Rukoro, stressed that the attempts would be fruitless as Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) had not followed the correct procedures in filing their complaint. The appeal was filed through a letter written to CAF last Saturday.

“I don’t think it will come to anything, because of the procedures and the time limit to file a complaint.
“The rules are clear - the referee’s decision is final. If it is later discovered that there was a wrong decision by the referee, CAF will only penalise the referee,” Rukoro was quoted saying by the Namibian online.
By Monday, Rukoro said his office received communication from the continental football body (CAF) as normal.

“I think CAF thinks it’s immaterial, not because it is factually wrong, but because of the time factor.
“ZIFA has a new Executive Committee and I think they might not have taken note of this. CAF is still communicating with us and I think this protest will come to nothing,” Rukoro stressed.
Rukoro stressed that the appeal was supposed to be filed within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the contentious penalty was Namibia’s third. It was taken by midfielder, Dynamo Fredericks, who stopped and feinted a kick after completing his run up, before slotting the ball past Zimbabwe’s goalkeeper Herbert Rusawo. According to FIFA’s Laws of the Game, ‘it is an offence if the kicker ‘feints to kick the ball once the kicker has completed the run up
After video analysis of the incident, Sibandze and Mbingo, were later suspended by the Confederation of African Football last week, as exclusively reported by this publication.

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