FAM cracks whip on refs
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has cracked its whip on three referees who have been suspended for failing to take a firm line during recent TNM Super League matches.
The suspension of the trio of Michael Mwambyale, Marko Dzimbasekwa and Alfred Chilinda follows a meeting which the association’s referees committee held on June 17 and are effective June 18.
According to a communiqué from FAM to the National Football Referees Association , Mwambyale, who was the centre referee during a match between Mighty WakaWaka Tigers and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers on May 7 2023 at Mpira Stadium in Chiwembe Township, Blantyre, has been slapped with a six-month suspension alongsideDzimbasekwa, who was the fourth official during the match.
The committee noted that Mwambyale denied Tigers a clear goal and also failed to send off Nomads’ forward Christopher Kumwembe after showing him two yellow cards.
“These are very serious mistakes for a referee as they affected the result of the match. The referee, therefore, influenced the result of the match,” reads the communique in part.
Dzimbasekwa has been suspended for failing to record Kumwembe’s second yellow card.
The match ended one-all.
On the other hand, Alfred Chilinda, who officiated the match between Civil Service United and FCB Nyasa Bullets, has been suspended for four months for denying the Civil Servants a clear goal.
He has also been faulted for denying the People’s Team two clear penalties during the match.
The referees’ committee further states that it hopes the period of suspension will help the referees engage their coaches “for proper training and lessons”.
While hailing FAM for the suspensions, Tigers technical director Robin Alufandika said they failed to bag maximum points due to match officials’ incompetence.
“It’s painful that we lost two points because someone failed to execute his duties properly. We were supposed to win that game. This should be put to a stop and only competent referees should be given badges,” he said.
National Referees Association general secretary Chris Kalichero said the suspensions should serve as a lesson to other match officials.
He said: “As referees, we need to take a firm line in the implementation and application of the laws of the game. We need to adhere to the rules all the time.
“Having said that, to err is human and we believe that these were just mistakes and not something deliberate.”
