PREMIER LEAGUE’S INTEGRITY AT STAKE: Feud over naming of KPL match referees threatens smooth running of league matches
Football
By
Gilbert Wandera
| Jun 01, 2016
Battle between Kenyan Premier League and Football Kenya Federation over the appointment of referees appears far from over.
And the standoff is now threatening the otherwise smooth flow of matches, even as teams get ready for the second leg of the league.
On Monday, KPL made an unprecedented move of calling for a replay of last week’s match between Muhoroni Youth and Chemelil Sugar. The league bosses made the decision after the referee initially meant to officiate in the game was replaced.
Muhoroni Youth, who won the contested match 1-0, have vowed not to honour the replay, insisting they do not want to be caught between the supremacy wars between KPL and FKF.
In a letter on Monday, KPL ordered for the replay, which is a culmination of tension that has been simmering between the league body and federation, over the control of match officials.
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Since the beginning of the season, a joint committee, consisting of officials from KPL and FKF, has been appointing referees for the top league.
According to the KPL letter, centre referee Amos Ichingwa was replaced at the last minute by Fifa referee Israel Mpaima, which is contrary to stipulated rules.
“Changes in match appointments shall only be made by the MAC chairman with the agreement of at least two other members or by a joint decision of the FKF Secretary General and KPL Chief Executive Officer.
“In view of the above, the procedure was not followed in accordance with FKF/KPL Agreement and Rule 4.2 (c) on Replacement of a Referee and as a consequence Match No.113 is therefore, not recorded as an official played match.
“Your clubs shall therefore play the match with the officially authorised appointed match officials within 14-days. Following protest by Chemelil Sugar on how they were treated in the first match, we have provisionally booked a neutral venue- Moi Stadium, Kisumu.,” said Oguda in the letter calling for a replay.
Despite KPL pushing for Ichingwa to officiate in the match, he had not been shortlisted to handle any fixture in the first leg, but was picked to stand in for suspended referee John Alando, before the decision was shelved due to some concerns about his past performance.
The referee, however, opted to travel to Muhoroni even after being asked not to do so by a member of the referee’s appointment committee.
On arrival at Muhoroni, Ichingwa found center referee Israel Mpaima already at the venue and it took the intervention of a top FKF official who helped quell matters, before Ichingwa packed his bags and returned to Nairobi.
Contacted over the matter, FKF chairman Nick Mwendwa said the issue has come to their attention and they are consulting on how best to deal with it.