Super League of Malawi (Sulom) has opened an investigation into circumstances that led the abandonement of a TNM Super League match between Mighty Wanderers and Ekhaya FC on Wednesday at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
Six minutes into the second-half and with the two sides in a deadlock, heavy rains made the pitch unplayable and visibility almost impossible.
Match referee Honest Maulana stopped play before calling off the match.
But Sulom general secretary Williams Banda, in an interview yesterday, said the referee did not follow procedure since he was supposed to wait for 40 minutes before calling off the match.
He said: “The Super League of Malawi would like to inform the public that due to heavy rainfall, the match between Mighty Wanderers and Ekhaya FC in the TNM Super League that was scheduled to take place today, the 5th of November was disrupted.
“In this event, the match did not continue. However, we are currently investigating the matter to know how the match officials decided to end the match contrary to what is in the rules and regulations.
“In the rules and digressions, it gives mandate to the league organisers, in this case, the Super League of Malawi, to assess the circumstances prevailing on the match venue that could be either warrant continuation or abandonment.
“In all cases, the teams and the match officials were supposed to wait for at least 40 minutes and, thereafter, in consultation with the Super League of Malawi, we could have assessed the situation and determine whether the match could continue or be stopped.
“In this event, such procedures were not followed and we are currently gathering the information as to who exactly caused that the match should not continue.”
According to TNM Super League rules and regulations, the referee is at liberty to stop play if he feels the playing conditions are not suitable.
Article 21 of the regulations read: “In normal circumstances the referee, shall in consultation with the match assessor, decide whether or not a pitch is fit for a fixture.”
The regulations’ Article 22 further say that 22 Sulom may postpone a match due to unforeseen circumstances, for example, death of a player or official, an act of God [force majeure] or major accidents.”
Following the suspension, Sulom is expected to decide when the match will be played in full or resume from 52nd minute.
Article 24 of the regulation state that “a match may be replayed if it could not take place or could not be played in full for reasons other than force majeure, but due to the behaviour of a team or behaviour for which an association or a club is liable”.
Meanwhile, Sulom says it will decide on the fate of the match after the investigations.
Said Banda: “The general public, however, should informed that all is under control in strict adherence to the rules and aggression and the Super League of Malawi once we finalize our investigation and the scoping of the information, we will inform the general public the next steps that will take.
“However, we are warning other teams and on match officials that they should always engage the Super League of Malawi whenever such eventualities happen.”
Both Maulana and National Football Referees Committee officials were not available for comment.
However, football analyst Twaha Chimuka, in an interview, wondered if stakeholders are aware of the 40- minute wait regulation.
He said: “It’s a clear that there is lack of knowledge of rules and regulations and a communication gap between stakeholders in the game starting from within Sulom officials and clubs.
“As someone who witnessed the match at the venue, the signs were clear that some officials from Sulom didn’t know what to do with the situation.”
Following the abandonement of the match, Wanderers’ rivals, FCB Nyasa Bullets had a chance to dislodge the Nomads at the top of the table.
However, they were held to a goalles draw by Blue Eagles at Nankhaka Stadium in Area 30, Lilongwe to remain second, a point behind the leaders.
