BONGANI MALUNGA
Mochudi Center Chiefs are at risk of facing a six month suspension from all forms of football for not honouring their game against Miscellaneous at the Serowe Sports Complex last month. Chiefs were set to be addressed by the Botswana Premier League Disciplinary Committee last week but the hearing has been postponed to Thursday this week.
Chiefs were scheduled to face Miscellaneous in Serowe in a scheduled 19:00 kick-off, however, the club could not honour the game as players were reportedly on strike as they were owed salaries. The players decided against participating in the game until their payment issues were resolved, this came at the worst possible time as a league game was on the horizon but the players did not budge.
Now Chiefs are set to face the wrath of the Disciplinary Committee as first time offenders for failing to honour their fixture, they are still set to face a heavy punishment if found guilty. The club could have learned their fate last week Thursday but the hearing was delayed as their charges had to be amended by the Chief Prosecutor.
Chiefs are facing two counts, being contravention of Regulation 14.15 and bringing the game into disrepute. The harshest punishment Chiefs could face is a six month suspension. According to article 14.15 of the Botswana Football Association Play Rules and Regulations, “Any club that fails to honour a properly scheduled game shall be suspended for a period of six months for (the) first offence, 18 months for the second offence and expulsion from BFA for subsequent offence.”
The club now faces an anxious wait to learn what kind of punishment they will get if found guilty, if they are suspended for six months they will be out of action until April, the number of games they will miss could present a fixture pile up to make up for lost time in May.