Nomads to seek court redress

Mighty Mukuru Wanderers have said they are proceeding to seek a court injunction stopping Football Association of Malawi (FAM) from proceeding with the Airtel Top 8 tournament until their appeal is heard and determined by the association’s appeals committee,

In an interview yesterday, one of the lawyers representing the Nomads David Kanyenda said they had given FAM 24 hours to act on their concerns, but nothing  came up.

“The cut-off point was close of business today [yesterday] and we have still not heard anything from them. So, we have instructions from our clients to proceed and seek an injunction from the civil courts,” he said.

Kanyenda said despite Article 64 (2) of Fifa Statutes prohibiting taking football issues to civil courts, circumstances have left them with no choice but to puruse such an option.

He said: “The premise of that principle [of not taking football matters to civil courts] is that judicial football bodies have capacity to fairly resolve football-related disputes.

“In the instant case, we have an unfortunate scenario where the FA [FAM] is refusing to facilitate prosecution of our legitimate appeal.

“As an option of last resort, we are, therefore, entitled to seek recourse from civil courts because FAM is refusing to follow the football dispute settlement channels.

“We want to compel FAM to respect and observe the football statutes by adjudicating upon our pending appeal.”

Kanyenda said it is unfortunate that FAM is frustrating all their efforts to appeal to the Appeals Committee “as provided by their own statues”.

He said: “We filed a notice of an intention to appeal pending a provision of a full determination by the disciplinary committee, but sadly that has not been done up to now by FAM despite repeated written requests.”

Among others, the Nomads want FAM to facilitate prosecution of their appeal before the FAM appeals committee in line with Article 14 of the tournament’s rules and regulations.

Wanderers also want FAM to halt any Airtel Top 8 fixtures pending determination of their appeal by the Appeals Committee.

The Nomads further argue that their right to appeal is enshrined in the provisions of Article 14.2 of the tournament’s Rules and Regulations which partly reads: “Any team dissatisfied with the decision of FAM disciplinary committee shall have the right to appeal to the FAM appeals committee  upon the payment of the sum of K1 million.”

Kanyenda said they are, therefore, surprised that “not withstanding the foregoing, FAM purported to schedule the second leg fixture against Silver Strikers while fully aware that the first leg dispute remains pending in judicial bodies of FAM”.

FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda was not available for comment yesterday.