The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premiership basement outfit Chiredzi United coach Gishon “Gizha” Ntini thinks the expulsion from the bench of his unlicensed backroom staff at every match is a deliberate ploy by Moses Chunga’s sympathisers to frustrate his efforts to breathe life into the team’s battle to survive relegation.
On Sunday at Sakubva Stadium just before kick-off during the Chibuku Super Cup first round tie against Buffaloes, Ntini was left with substitutes only on the bench as the entire backroom staff was ejected owing to their failure to produce licences.
“It is unfortunate that there is an underhand trying by all means to derail my efforts to evade relegation.
“These people (back-room staff) were there before I was here and they used to sit on the bench together with Moses Chunga, but today because it is Gishon Ntini, they are being ejected.
“I know these are people trying to protect Moses Chunga’s interests. Thank you,” fumed Ntini in a post- match interview on Sunday.
A week ago, Chiredzi United, who are fast gaining the rebellious new-boys tag, forced a kick-off delay by 15 minutes with match officials arguing that the Chiredzi technical staff, who did not have licences, should not sit on the bench. Ntini, the team manager, medic and physiotherapist did not have licences and, in the chaos that followed, the nomadic coach summoned his men, who had taken up positions to get the game underway, off the pitch, threatening to walk away.
When order was restored, thanks to the intervention of match commissioner Brighton Mudzamiri, the visitors crumbled in the first half and, given that an abandoned game would have been given to CAPS United on a 3-0 score-line, maybe Ntini was right that they start the journey back to the Lowveld earlier than scheduled.
Ntini was almost ejected in their match against Chicken Inn after failing to produce his licence.
“If the PSL do not like us, they must just tell us. In each and every game they do this (ask for licences). The PSL should not talk about licences when someone has been coaching from January to December.
“I wonder why the issue of licences is being brought up now and that I should not sit on the bench. There are people who are not even qualified but are being allowed to coach.
“Each and every game we are facing the same problem and we wonder why the rules are being applied selectively on us. So we did not lose this game on the field of play but somewhere away from the field.
“If these people (PSL) treat us fairly, we will survive.
“Maybe the next thing would be that they will not allow us to use the 11 players.
“Maybe they will limit us to use only two or one player,” complained Ntini after the encounter against CAPS United.
