…As Nomads face fine
Moyale Barracks have blamed referees for their loss to Be Forward Wanderers and have claimed that the Carlsberg Cup finalists are favoured by Football Association of Malawi (FAM).
The Soldiers lost 3-2 to Wanderers on penalties in the Carlsberg Cup semifinal match on Saturday. During the match, Wanderers were also awarded a penalty which Joseph Kamwendo missed.
Speaking in a post-match interview with the press, Moyale’s Coach Charles Kamanga alleged that the Blantyre based outfit is favoured by the country’s football mother body hence most decisions by referee were favouring the Nomads.
“I cannot say much on officiating just because this team Wanderers is FAM’s (Football Association of Malawi) team and you can see the penalty which they got wasn’t real,” he said.
Kamanga was referring to the penalty which Wanderers were awarded in the last 10 minutes of the match after one of Moyale’s defenders handled the ball in the 18 yards box but Wanderers’ Kamwendo failed to convert.
He however accepted the defeat: “I have to accept the defeat, we have lost the game which we controlled in both halves, I have nothing to say, we are out of Carlsberg Cup.”
On his part, the holders’ team manager Steve Madeira commended the referee saying he did his best and will not be surprised if he is called to handle some continental and global games.
“I am not mentioning names, I think this guy who officiated this match is a good referee, he handled the game well and very professionally, he should keep on doing that definitely we may see him at Africa Cup of Nations,” he said.
However, the Lali Lubani side’s team manager said the pitch was in bad condition hence the teams failed to use their usual styles of play.
“I am not really happy though we are in the finals, we did not play our usual game, This pitch isn’t playable, Moyale didn’t also play their game. It was very boring to supporters who paid a lot of money just to watch this match,” concluded Madeira.
In the meantime, the defending champions are likely to be charged with offences of pitch invasion after Nomads supporters jumped into the field of play to celebrate their team’s victory.
