Quit Threat

KenyaFootball.com reports that:

AFC Leopards has threatened to pull out of the Kenya Premier League (KPL) if the Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee (IDAC) fail to reverse their earlier decision of awarding their opponents (Nairobi City Stars) their abandoned match played on February 8th.

AFC Leopards Chairman Alex Ole Magelo who appeared bitter after learning of the IDAC decision said the ruling was unjustified and barbaric. The club has now opted to appeal for a fair hearing. He said during the Malindi meeting, it was agreed that IDAC will be replaced by Dispute resolution Chamber (DRC) and wondered why KPL was still clinging to IDAC.

Contacted for clarification, Football Kenya Limited (FKL) Titus Kasuve disclosed that nobody should cheat the Kenya soccer fraternity with any ruling emanating from IDAC" That body ceased to exist long time ago. It was replaced by the Dispute resolution Chambers (DRC)" said Kasuve.

Addressing the media at the clubs training ground at State house, Magelo said his club is currently feeding from hand to mouth and yet KPL wants to wipe out whatever small the club is holding on to. He accused IDAC Chairman Professor Moni Wekesa for being used as a puppet of finishing community clubs and vowed to tame them in their own game.

'A replay could have been a fair decision since the match commissar and the referees report absolved both teams from blame and cited lack of security in the venue. We were the away team and nobody should expect us to carry our fans. We can make soccer unmanageable. KPL is destroying soccer instead of building. We had faith in KPL but with this kind of half baked decisions, teams will go nowhere." said Magelo.

"When we lost away in Kakamega to Western Stima, Magelo added, we never complained since we lost fairly. Let us be defeated in the stadium, but not in the KPL boardroom. It’s a shame. We shall play soccer with or without KPL. If they will not reverse that decision, we shall pull out of the KPL” said a bitter Magelo.

Nairobi City Stars (NCS) were awarded the abandoned game on a 2-0 basis against AFC Leopards that was played few weeks ago at the Hope Centre. NCS was leading 1-0.

The story is carried also by Nairobi Star






















The Daily Nation also mentions that Ingwe is appealing against the decision. The appeal is lodged with Football Kenya.










Kenya Times also carries the story. Interestingly, in this story, the Chairman is quoted as saying that the decision to ban Hope Centre was on flimsy reasons.










The KenyaFootball.com story above elicits comments from some fans (some non-Leopards):

All I'm hearing is bla...bla...bla, were going to pull out of the league. They're acting as if they are bigger than the league. Si, muende?? ala, I'm getting tired of this nonsense. If you don't want to be in the league, go.... You can appeal the decision, I have no problems with that.....but kila saa unatu-threaten ati mta enda, enda basi.....Kenya Football is bigger than the AFC leopards. We'll survive if you are there or not.... washenzi hawa!

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Leopards should be the last team to threaten to leave KPL, because the truth is, they were rigged in at the expense of Eld Mahakama. But I wouldn't fault them if they withdrew and Eldoret Mahakama takes its rightful place. IDAC's ruling is intriguing as it defers from the precedent, 45 minutes Mathare-Gor game. KPL needs to study and examine whether perimeter fences are a necessity in the first place. This incident could have been fatal if the fence had fallen on the ball-boy minding his business. (Alvin Fundi)

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That's what you get for being greedy and bending rules to get back into the Premier League. The grass always looks greener on the other side until you get there sometimes. Anyway, I do like AFC Leopards, I am just saying they should have done things the proper way. It's a learning experience. Don't cry over spilled milk. (Sunguti)

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Though the Gor issue can go punished. It was unfair for IDAC to punish AFC that way while the allowed this Game to be played there.They KPL have accepted responsdibility and actually apologised in the press to fans!!! No what is this.... I agree clubs should be punished for unruly fans but AFC fans were not unruly.Anybody who went to that Game will tell you that it was a disaster in the waiting somebody could easily have got Killed. The game should be replayed maybe in an empty stadium at the most.Awarding three points to CITY STARS is unfair since the game had 30 mins of play and AFC was having an upper hand. (All Kenyan)

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Hope Center is a derelict facility suitable only for local inter estate matches...that 10000 fans were in a 4000 capacity ground smacks of incomeptence on the Nairobi City Stars handlers..however..all said and done...this is Kenya...the land of such baffling decisions (Mike)

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It works both ways. Host provide security but each team must be able to control its own fans (Star)

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This is ridiculous. That AFC has large following across the country does not mean any security scare is caused by club supporters. The home team is responsible for security arrangents. FIFA through their proxy (Hatimy and Munro) should have inspected all stadia that will be hosting matches involving 'big clubs' instead of banning the stadium after things have gone wrong. Why wait for the fire to raze a building with accupants then decclare that no one should enter it? (Mukhovero)

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Is this fair for AFC? Who agreed that only AFC fans went to the pitcth after the fence went down?

Haaaaaaaa, someone is against INGWE (Barasa FM)

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Soccer administrators showed ineptness by hosting premier league matches on open grounds. FIFA which is currently running soccer affars in Kenya through Hatimy and Munro should be ashamed of themselves for supervising this kind of madness; yet they pretend to care for security of players and fans at stadia (Bavon Omwocha)

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In some good news, Caroll Radull after her previous two loss predictions for the Leopards, finally calls the Bandari game for the Leopards. 2-0 it is.





















Next up: BANDARI