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MB. SWALLOWS FACE OVER E150 000 CHARGES

03/01/2022 08:43:00 BY SANELE JELE

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MBABANE – It never rains but pours for Mbabane Swallows.

The capital city giants are in hot soup after their unsporting behaviour could land them in big trouble. This is after they contravened the 2021/22 MTN Rules and Regulations on Saturday following their 2-1 defeat to elite league rookies, Rangers. They are likely to face charges which can equate to E155 000 if found guilty by the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Disciplinary Committee (DC). While the matter was reported to the police on the same day, it is yet to be confirmed if the match commissioner’s report cited what happened on the day.

Swallows may face six charges if the match Commissioner, Enzrom Khoza cites the incident in his report. The red and white ensemble supporters assaulted a Times of Eswatini Sports Journalist, Machawe Fakudze further making him delete pictures from his phone. Police Officers’ intervention saved the day for the scribe. He had to be taken swiftly into a police van. It did not end there as the fans were also seen charging towards the Head Coach Christopher Ennin and he was also saved by the police from the irate fans.

The above mentioned incidents are well articulated in the 2021/22 MTN Rules and Regulations. They contravened article 7(b,c,d,e, g) and article 9(b) (vii).
Article 7(c) stipulates that assaulting a referee, PLE official, player, club official, marshal, supporter, fan, spectator or the use of excessive force shall be punished with a fine of not less than E40 000 by the DC. In addition, the offending club shall be ordered to compensate the victim for any financial loss incurred due to the assault.

The rules in article 9(b)(vii) state that a repeat of a violation by a club for the second and subsequent times in a season carries a fine of not less than E25 000. This rule applies because Swallows have been charged and found guilty twice this season. This was during their first league game against Royal Leopard where they were fined E25 000 after they contravened article 7 (b) and (j).

attacked

Their fan attacked Leopard officials. The team’s unsporting behaviour attracted another fine in their third league game against Green Mamba after the supporters bayed for the technical bench and management’s blood. The supporters went on to try to hold the team hostage after the game where they lost 1-0. This happened in a space of almost three months since the start of the MTN sponsored league.

Reached for comment, Premier League of Eswatini(PLE) Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pat Vilakati said they were not in position to comment on the latest incident until they see reports tomorrow(today). Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that Nhlangano police opened a case related to football. She said police were still investigating the case. Mbabane Swallows Marketing and Communications Manager Mancoba Mabuza said they were working around the clock to address the latest developments.