FKF: KPL used ineligible, aged and suspended referees

Despite a much celebrated kickoff of the Kenya Premier League over the weekend, details are now emerging that the league may have used ineligible match officials some of whom had been suspended, Standard Sports can now reveal. An irate Football Kenya Federation head of Technical Committee Elli Mukolwe poured cold water to the much hyped opening weekend of the league saying that most of the referees used were of substantial standards.

The seven center referees used in the seven matches were Amos Wanjala in KCB-Western Stima, Nassur Doka for Gor Mahia – Mathare, Raphael Nduati in Chemelil – AFC Leopards, Moses Osano in Ulinzi – Sony Sugar, Amos Ichingwa in Thika – Tusker, James Kagera in Bandari – Muhoroni and George Mwai in Ushuru – Sofapaka. Asked about the qualifications of the seven whistlers, Mr. Eli Mukolwe was full of castigations.

“Someone like Kagera has not passed any Physical Endurance Test. How did he run in the scorching heat of Mombasa?  Look at all of them, they are failures. Amos Wanjala we suspended on integrity grounds. Now he has found a backdoor to football again. Aren’t they just jokers?”

Maintaining the federation’s sole resolute to train and deploy referees as per FIFA statutes, Mr. Mukolwe was full of praise for FIFA referees who he said gave the KPL a snob over the weekend. “Just keep an eye on those matches, no FIFA referee will come close to officiating them. Not even a young upcoming referee who has focus on what he wants to do will be there for them.”

The weekend matches went smoothly without much officiating controversy except for the Thika United versus Tusker match in which Thika Coach Tim Bryett questioned the penalty awarded to opponents by centre referee Amos Ichingwa. Even then, Mukolwe still warns of problems in the future:

“They will get a few things right but in the long run they will have problems and they will carry own crosses.”

@TomBwana