John Ashihundu
31 October 2008
Nairobi — Kenya Football Federation secretary Sammy Joel Obingo has clarified that AFC Leopards' appeal against Homegrown FC would be decided according to the 2008 KFF rules and regulations governing the Nationwide League.
Leopards are demanding to be awarded points for the match, which they lost 0-1 in Naivasha on May 17, 2008 after the hosts fielded a Leopards defender, Robert Indimuli.
Leopards claimed that Indimuli was released in 2006 by a former Leopards official who assumed the duties of the club's assistant secretary. Michael Esakwa was the assistant secretary when Indimuli was released.
Eldoret Mahakama FC wrote to KFF on Friday arguing that the outcome of this case might directly affect their (Mahakama) position in the league. Mahakama top the standings while Leopards are second.
They made their official stand through the club's organising secretary, Rachel Ndorobo, who said if Indimuli did not belong to Homegrown FC, then all teams had an equal right to be awarded points from the Naivasha club.
In their letter, Mahakama demanded to be awarded six points on a 4-0 goal basis having lost both matches to Homegrown.
They claimed Obingo must have been a signatory to the players transfer from Leopards to Homegrown.
Reacting to the letter, Obingo said the Indimuli issue arose because Leopards protested during match time, which is what the rules allow.
"The appeal arising out of this match shall be decided on by the relevant KFF organ and that is why we circulated our letter to Home grown FC and all parties as a matter of transparency," he said.
Obingo said appeals, especially on players' legibility, were governed by rules, which were consistent with CAF and Fifa.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
