Chicken Inn ………………………… 0
Yadah FC …………………………….. 0
(match abandoned)
Former Warriors coach Rahman Gumbo lost his cool and caused the premature end to his charges’ Chibuku Super Cup first round match against Yadah at Ascot yesterday.
Ascot is no stranger to cntroversy following the abandonment of a league match at the same venue in June when a goalposts collapsed under the weight of a goalkeeper.
At the same venue, the match was completed in a 34-minute spell last week under controversial terms and conditions set by the league’s governing board.
However, this time, sheer mutiny cast a dark cloud over the game.The storm was brewing prior to this match when the Gamecocks protested to having their match staged in Gweru instead of Bulawayo saying it was their right to have the match played in Bulawayo as a seeded team.
Football supporters were relieved to see the Bulawayo-based side pitch up for the game thinking that a farce had been avoided.Controversy then struck in the 86th minute when referee Munyaradzi Majoni awarded the clergymen a penalty.Gumbo summoned his players to the touchline, ordering them not to continue with the match unless the decision was reversed.
The match officials waited for over 30 minutes for Chicken Inn players to return, before abandoning the match.
“Chicken Inn protested the decision by the referee and walked off the pitch. We waited for 30 minutes but they did not return, leaving us with no option but to call off the game,” said Matchday commissioner Nelson Kusosa.
Yadah coach Thomas Ruzive blasted his opposite number for causing a premature end to the game.“Rahman (Gumbo) is a professional coach who has been in the game for a very long time.
“We did not expect such kind of behaviour from an experienced coach like him,” he said.
Gumbo refused to comment on the incident aparte from saying: “No comment. What can I say about this poor officiating?”
