Dar es Salaam — Simba have strongly rubbished off reports that some star players at the club were targeted allegedly for sabotaging their team during a 3-1 Charity Shield defeat to bitter-rivals Young Africans last Wednesday.

Simba chairman, Ismail Aden Rage, told the press on Monday that the club's leadership was irked by the story which appeared in one of the local papers, claiming that four players have been accused to throw away the match and that the club was mulling over actions to be taken against the players.

"There is no truth about the story, it's ridiculous, purely cooked story. We're very disappointed with this paper and we've written a warning to them that we will not hesitate to take legal actions in the future if they would publish unfounded stories again," Rage said.

Rage said the club's hierarchy has full confidence with players and that what happened last Wednesday was typically a game of football, where a team you can win, lose or draw.

"We're the better team for the entire 90 minutes, but Young Africans were the better side in the penalties. Even coach (Patrick Phiri) submitted his report which showed that all the players were at their top level."

Simba were by far a better side in the highly entertaining premier league curtain raiser 'Charity Shield' match, but were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal as they eventually lost in post match penalty shootouts.

It has proved a tradition among fans of the losing side to embark on witch-hunt and point accusing fingers to some of their players. And this time around, the said newspapers, suggested that four key players - Musa Hassan 'Mgosi', Uhuru Selemani, Mohamed Banka and Emmanuel Okwi were the scapegoats.

Rage urged Simba supporters to abandon 'the old-fashioned' witch-hunt tendency whenever they lose against Yanga. He challenged them to focus on building a good team that could compete at the international level.

"We're in modern era and we should change our mindsets and learn to accept that defeat is part of football,' he said and sought the example of the English Community Shield match in which defending champions Chelsea lost 3-1 to Manchester United.

"Was it sabotage too?" he queried.

Rage recalled that the two soccer giants have been beating each so many times, but neither has succeeded to stand out at the continental stage.

"It is high time we should look at a bigger picture, we need to review our performances at international competitions and work on improving it."

The former Simba player was not self-centered though as he seized the opportunity to pass congratulations to Yanga chairman Lloyd Nchunga, following their Charity Shield triumph and wished them a successful premier league campaign.

Meanwhile, Rage revealed that Simba have registered its brand at the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA). He said the move seeks to ensure the club control the manufacture and selling of its products.

He said the club will in the near future enter contracts with companies who will be entitled to manufacture and sell their merchandise, including T-shirts, scuffs, pen, calendars and flags. Rage said Simba have planned to raise up to 600m/- through merchandising during next year's CAF Champions League campaign.