SEA BIRDS IN DEEP PLE OCEAN

MBABANE – Manzini Sea Birds could be charged and fined for misconduct by the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) after some of their officials lost their cool and threatened match officials.

This was during their Eswatini Bank Cup clash against Mbabane Swallows last Saturday at the Somhlolo National Stadium, a game which Sea Birds lost 4-6 after penalties.

The team’s officials were left fuming at referee Thulani Sibandze for awarding a penalty to Swallows towards the end game of this drama-filled encounter as they felt the decision was not fair. So incensed were the officials that they threatened to assault Sibandze and had to be restrained by police officers assigned to oversee order at the stadium during the games. The penalty was awarded after the referee adjudged a Sea Birds’ defender to have fouled Swallows’ striker Sandile Hlatjwako inside the box.

Before this decision, Sea Birds were leading 2-1 and looked headed for a famous win.
If this incident is included in the match officials’ reports, Sea Birds are likely to be slapped with not less than four counts of misconduct.
According to the rules and regulations of this tournament, invading the field of play, throwing of any objects into the field of play or its surroundings or unto persons thus assaulting or attempting to assault is finable.

The rules further state that use of threatening words and physical manhandling with intent to assault or to cause bodily harm also carries a fine. It is also stated that uttering abusive or obscene or derogatory words, spitting or emission of saliva onto a person or directed towards a person, use of provocative or insulting hand gestures/signals and includes any incitement, conspiracy or attempt to engage in an act to bring football into disrepute is also punishable in the rules.

PLE’ Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pat Vilakati has always emphasized that rules will apply when supporters of teams behave in a wayward manner. The organization is expected to analyse the match officials’ reports of the game in question to determine whether or not Sea Birds face the Disciplinary Committee (DC) to answer for their actions.   

Manzini Sea Birds PRO Thami Cebe when contacted last night said briefly.
“I did not see the incident. All I saw was the referee awarding Swallows a penalty that was not there. It was very painful to lose the game that way and still is even now. It’s a pity that when you complain about match officials you get fined but he truth is that the penalty was unfair on us as a team,”

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