MAFCO penalised

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has slapped Mafco team manager David Gulaimfa with a three-year ban while TNM Super League joint leading scorer Richard Mbulu is suspended for the rest of the season for last Friday’s violence that led to the postponement of the Carlsberg Cup quarter-final match between the MDF side and Nyasa Big Bullets at Chitowe Stadium.

FAM competitions sub-committee, which met on Monday evening, also slapped Mafco with K1.250 million fine for the incident while Chitowe Stadium will no longer host FAM sanctioned matches until further notice.

Bullets player Chimwemwe Kumkwawa has been fined K150 000 and further suspended for three matches for retaliating.

The fracas last Friday started when Bullets wanted to have a feel of the venue ahead of the quarter-final as per rules and regulations of the cup.

“The committee considered reports submitted by the match coordinator, Mafco FC and Nyasa Big Bullets. From the reports it clearly emerged that there was a fracas that started as a result of Mafco invading the pitch and disturbing [Bullets] training session.

“This was clearly admitted in the report submitted by Mafco  general secretary, and was corroborated by the match coordinator’s report. It was noted during the meeting that this invasion followed spoken instructions from Mafco team manager David Gulaimfa,” the verdict reads in part.

The incident happened in the presence of FAM competitions manager Gomezgani Zakazaka who was at the venue and had liaised with other Mafco officials for them to allow Bullets to train at the venue.

Adds the report: “The meeting further observed that following the invasion of the training session, Bullets quickly assembled at the centre circle and left the field of play as a group.

“However, in a bid to collect a ball from a Mafco FC player Paul Ndhlovu, Bullets goalkeeper [Kumkwawa] was slapped by the said Paul Ndhlovu. The Bullets goalkeeper retaliated and the Mafco player was joined by his colleagues in beating the Bullets goalkeeper.

“This forced the other Bullets players, notably Fischer Kondowe and Aimable Niyikiza, to proceed and try to rescue their colleague. However, Mafco players, notably Paul Ndhlovu, Stain Malata and Richard Mbulu, rained blows on the three Bullets players. It was further concluded that Richard Mbulu rushed to Mafco vehicle and brought out an iron bar that he used to hit one of the Bullets players.”

Ndhlovu and Stain Malata have been banned for six matches organised by FAM or any of its affiliates while Jailosi Kapalamula has been given a warning.

Reacting to the verdict, Gulaimfa said they would appeal.

“I am just reading the verdict now. We will definitely appeal. The verdict is unfair and it is based on one side. We were never called to a hearing. No one represented us to hear our side. The rules and regulations which they are quoting were never distributed to the teams. If we don’t get satisfied with the outcome of the appeal, we will take this matter to court,” Gulaimfa said in an interview yesterday.

The match will be played on Saturday at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.