Eagles suspect match-fixing

Blue Eagles FC have said they suspect match-fixing might have come into play in the game between Malawi Defence Force (MDF) sides Moyale Barracks and Red Lions on Sunday, leading to their relegation from the TNM Super League.

The Malawi Police Service-sponsored outfit was relegated on head-to-head after tying with Moyale on points, goals scored and goals conceded after the final day of matches.

Eagles general secretary (GS) Benjamin Msowoya said in an on Monday that they suspect an element of conspirancy might have occurred leading to Moyale securing a 7-0 victory over Zomba-based Lions, who had already been relegated prior to the match.

The result meant that Moyale survived relegation on head-to-head advantage following a tie with Eagles on 35 points and a goal difference of zero after 30 games apiece.

However, Eagles could have avoided relegations had they at least drawn in their last fixture at home against another MDF outfit Mafco FC on Sunday, but a 1-2 defeat put them in the murky waters of relegation.

“We are suspicious that there were some match-fixing elements in the Moyale versus Lions match considering that both sides are MDF teams. We are reviewing the situation before we can let our legal team to pursue it further,” Msowoya said.

“But if that doesn’t work, we are ready to play in the lower league as we are partly to blame for finding ourselves in such a situation because there were some games we could have easily won.”

He added that there is need for authorities revisit Fifa’s 2012 Lilongwe Declaration, which among others, barred institutions from having more than one team in the elite league.

In the 2023 Super League, MDF had four teams, namely Moyale, Mafco, Kamuzu Barracks and Red Lions. With Lions relegated, three military clubs remain in the top-flight league.

But in an interview, Lions GS Captain Davie Gondwe on Monday described Eagles’ match-fixing allegations as baseless.

He said Eagles side should stop blaming others for failing to survive as they had their fate  in their own hands.

“If they [Eagles] were serious about survival, they could have just at least drawn against Mafco rather than relying on other teams. They should learn to fight their own battles,” Gondwe said.

He added that Lions’ performance has not been satisfactory this season and it was not surprising to lose by a wide margin against Moyale.

Said Gondwe: “If you analyse our performance in the 2023 season, you will note that we were completely down and a loss by a big margin is not strange.

“Moreover, we played the last match while already relegated and the morale was low.”

Moyale GS Mike Chimwala was not available for comment on Monday, but the team’s coach Victor Chingoka dismissed the match-fixing theory, saying  his team was the better side on the day and deserved to win.

Mchinji-based Extreme FC is the other team that has been relagated from the league.