EXILED Chimurenga music guru Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo has hit out at rampant corruption in local football administration by the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa), likening it to the conduct of the country’s election management body, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which he claimed was a biased referee that has failed to provide a level the political playing field.
A fierce critic of corruption in Zimbabwe, as amplified by his hit song Corruption, Mapfumo told NewsDay in an interview yesterday that it was impossible to separate corruption in politics and that of sports because a fish rots from the head.
“In fact, corruption is a cancer in Zimbabwe. Look at what is happening with Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa. I once asked Chamisa if he really thought he would win when Zec is that biased,” he said.
“There is need for a neutral referee if the opposition is to beat Zanu PF. This will make the game more entertaining, even Real Madrid lost against the youthful Barcelona squad, letting in four goals with their expensively assembled star strikers failing even to score a goal.
“In politics, as in soccer, let us not always lay the blame on the coaches. It’s team effort. Supporters should learn that if the players don’t play well or are corrupted, their team will lose.”
Mapfumo’s position also resonates with the opposition and political commentators, including Sadc, who have said that Zec has failed to be a fair referee as has, over the years, been unable to deliver its mandate in a fair and non-partisan manner.
Zec has also been criticised for failing to address fundamental structural shortcomings of elections, notably violence, corruption and the abuse of State resources in favour of the ruling party.
However, Zec has since dismissed allegations of rigging as pure malice bent on diminishing the public’s confidence in the country’s electoral processes.
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Drawing from his experiences in football, Mapfumo, who was the owner of the now-defunct Sporting Lions FC which rose from Division Three to playing Premier League football, said corruption and the belief in juju was rife in local football.
He said referees were poorly remunerated, which is why many of them approach teams seeking bribes in exchange of throwing away matches.
“The referee is poor, so much that he is the one who approaches clubs seeking bribes in exchange of a win,” he said.
Match-fixing fears have largely been raised in the Northern Region Soccer League (NRSL), where aspirants MWOS FC and the Pedzisai “Scott” Sakupwanya–owned Scottland FC are determined to claim the coveted spot into the topflight league.
Reports have come out suggesting that some of the MWOS FC players have been approached by two football legends purportedly on behalf of Scottland FC to sway the outcome of their matches, which has marred the contests.
Scottland FC have since denied the allegations, with their coach Genesis Mangombe saying they are well-sponsored to motivate their players to win games by huge margins such as their 7-0 drubbing of Norton Community FC at Rufaro Stadium.
Meanwhile, Norton Community FC has since suspended five members of the club over match-fixing allegations, with players being approached by one of the team’s executive members with bribe money, allegedly on behalf of Scottland FC.
The suspended are two executive members Tafadzwa Kuyerukana and Patrick Nyamayaro, two coaches Clemence Masunda and Willard Nguwoyembwa as well as the goalkeeper Brandon Bere.
Yesterday, Mukanya took a swipe at such people accused of paying bribes to win matches, accusing them of putting the game into disrepute.
“They are not sportsmen. Where did he come from? What does he know about football? In fact, such people should be arrested for paying bribes. It’s illegal, it kills the local game.”
Former Warriors, Kaizer Chiefs and Sporting Lions player Hussein Amidu weighed in saying that match-fixing and spot fixing in Zimbabwean football actually have a rich history and were here to stay.
“Match fixing will be there forever. It has been there before us, including the bribing of referees, (which has seen) referees always taking sides, just like the game between Dynamos and Manica Diamonds at the weekend, where the referee added about 10 to 12 minutes, but the assistant had indicated five minutes of injury time,” he said.
Dynamos beat Manica Diamonds 4-2 on penalties in a Chibuku Super Cup semi-final match played at Rufaro Stadium after playing to a 1-all draw in regulation time.
Amidu added that spot fixing was difficult to pick and could be attributed to human error.
“It is everywhere in football world, but considering the paltry salaries that the majority of lower league players earn its difficult or impossible to stop especially if it is spot fixing, it difficult to detect whether or not its human error.
“Referees also make wrong decisions at times the linesman is flagging the other way while the referee thinks otherwise. It happens in football,” he said.
Mapfumo and Amidu’s sentiments came amid the resurfacing of match-fixing allegations in Zimbabwe’s professional football that has plagued the sport for decades, with allegations of players, referees and officials willing to accept a variety of bribes in return for favourable match outcomes.
Highlanders’ fans recently boycotted their team’s match against Green Fuel, preferring to gather at the clubhouse in protest over predetermined outcomes in the league.
This follows poor officiating in Bosso’s encounter against Simba Bhora, where a controversial penalty decision led Highlanders to refuse to continue the match, resulting in the game’s abandonment.
Though the match officials Cecil Gwezera and Zondzi Ngosana were suspended after television replays revealed they were poorly positioned, with the incident occurring outside the penalty area, Highlanders were fined and eliminated from the Chibuku Super Cup for their protest.
