Referees in the Northern Region Division One league are facing accusations of favoritism amid a fierce battle for promotion to the Premier Soccer League, with four teams—Harare City, Scottland, Mwos, and Black Rhinos—fighting it out in the top four.
The controversy came to a head yesterday during a high-stakes match between title contenders Scottland and Mwos at a packed Ngoni Stadium in Norton. As the match entered its final minutes, Scottland was leading 1-0 in a tense atmosphere when the visiting goalkeeper was fouled, but the referee instead awarded a corner kick.
From the ensuing corner, Mwos equalized with a powerful header. Moments later, the referee blew the final whistle, igniting chaos as Mwos players and officials celebrated wildly while Scottland officials confronted the match officials for explanations.
Scottland owner, Scott Sakupwanya, also attempted to approach the referees for answers but was intercepted by Mwos coach Lloyd Mutasa and other officials, leading to a heated exchange of words.
What particularly angered Sakupwanya was that moments before the equalizer, Mutasa had sent a ball boy to perform rituals in front of the Scottland goal. Sakupwanya was heard shouting, “This fraud is unacceptable. We spend so much money funding football only for referees to decide matches like this. This is clear fraud.”
He added, “I will even pull out of the league because it’s not fair. Look at the thousands of fans who came all the way from Mabvuku and other parts of Harare and they are treated to this. I’ll take up the matter with the league leadership.”
Just two weeks ago, there was pandemonium at Heart Stadium in Harare during the match between Mwos and Black Rhinos when the army team was denied a clear penalty. This led to a physical confrontation, with coach Mutasa being slapped by one of the fans.
Critics have warned that if refereeing standards continue to decline in the Northern Region, there is a real danger of serious crowd trouble.
“The match yesterday was good but was spoiled by the referee towards the end, and this could have resulted in serious chaos because of the tension and the huge crowd that attended,” said a senior football official who was present. “Scottland hired more than 10 buses from Mabvuku, and there were easily 8,000 fans or more crammed into that small stadium. The referee did well throughout but came terribly short in the last few minutes. Maybe he wanted to appease the huge crowd.”
In the standings, Black Rhinos are leading the race with 46 points from 22 games, Mwos and Harare City are tied for second and third with 45 points, while Scottland is fourth with 43 points from the same number of matches.
