Simba to boycott Yanga match if...

DAILY NEWS Reporter

MAINLAND Premier League leaders Simba leadership said yesterday that they will not field their team to face rivals Young Africans in the coming matches, unless foreign referees are hired to take charge of the game.

The club’s Media and Communication Officer, Haji Manara, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday that they are ‘tired’ of biased referees, who Manara said, in most cases they favoured their opponents whenever the two teams face off.

“We will not be ready to play any match against Yanga, if local referees will continue to be assigned to officiate the matches. We are ready to cover all expenses of bringing in foreign CAF and FIFA recognised referees to officiate at our league matches against Yanga because we believe they will be fair,” he said.

Manara cited the October 1st match at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam that was officiated by Martin Saanya, saying the referee failed to handle the match and favoured their opponents.

Crowd trouble marred the fixture in and tensions were exacerbated by Saanya’s decision to give Simba skipper, Jonas Mkude a red card for confronting him.

The damage was largely blamed on Simba supporters, who ripped out dozens of seats and hurled them onto the running track in protest at what they perceived as officiating that was biased in Yanga’s favour. Yanga fans were also on the book for damage of gates.

The fracas emerged after Simba fans protested against Amis Tambwe’s goal. Referee Saanya’s decision to award the goal sparked a storm of protests from Simba fans, who ripped off chairs, threw them onto the runway, compelling the police to use tear gas to disperse the culprits and calm the situation.

Initially, Saanya had overruled Ibrahim Ajib’s goal, adjudging him to have been in an offside position before scoring. However, camera footages suggested Ajib was onside. Simba want the TFF to borrow a leaf from Egypt FA, where Cairo derby pitting Al Ahly and Zamalek are not officiated by Egyptian referees.

The rivalry is so fierce that foreign referees are always brought in for the games. It is assumed Egyptian referees would always support one of the sides. Meanwhile, Simba has insisted that its ordinary members meeting will be held as planned on December 11 at the Oysterbay Police Officers Mess in Dar es Salaam.

Only one agenda will be tabled for discussion, which is making constitution amendments, as the club seeks transformation of its ownership and administration structure. Manara told journalists that all constitution procedures have been followed to hold the meeting.

“The government has no problem with decision to call the meeting because we have followed the procedures required according to our statutes,” he said. Manara statement came a day after the National Sports Council (NSC) Secretary General, Mohammed Kiganja, warned the club leadership to make sure that proper procedures are followed to make any transformation.

Kiganja said the NSC cannot stop Simba from holding their meeting, but the club is required to present the deliberations of the meeting so the council could bless the decisions met by the members, so long as the decisions will not threaten peace and harmony within the club and country at large.