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RC WRONGLY ‘SUSPENDS’ PHINDA

09/12/2017 00:31:00 BY CHRIS DLAMINI

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MBABANE – There is more than meets the eye in this close to two months old issue.

The match between Matsapha United and Mbabane Swallows was played on October 11, 2017 at Mavuso Sports Centre and ended goalless. This was the first round of the MTN League before the two sides finished 1-all last week in the second round.

On the night of the first round game, it did not just finish goalless but with some drama too – a protest mysteriously disappeared in the referee’s dressing room. Swallows had filed the protest on grounds that Matsapha had fielded suspended players by the Football Association (FA). Referee in the match Leticia Viana had seen the protest signed but only submitted to the PLS an affidavit confirming its existence and that it was stolen in the change room.

This prompted investigations by the Referees Committee which led to the suspension of assistant referee Phinda Ndzimandze.
He has not been involved in any match since that fateful night and sources have said he was worried because the truth then came out but he was ‘still in the wild’ about his return to officiating.

“All I can say is yes, I was told verbally to take a break while investigations continued but the Referees Committee are the rightful people as they were the ones working on the issue,” Ndzimandze said while also confirming he has been on ice for almost two months now.
Investigations by the author of this article revealed that the RC found it was not him that was responsible for the lost protest but a middle man, one of the country’s top referees with a FIFA badge.

“And he continues to work while another person is suffering for doing nothing in the matter. Maybe this referee is being protected because of his FIFA badge,” said another official in the rank of match commissioner when asked if he knew anything about this issue.
The said referee is known to this newspaper but his name will not be revealed for now as the matter continues with the FA which is expected to come out with the final say.