Kenya: Bidco Head Coach Akhulia Fumes At Referee After Loss to Gor Mahia

25 January 2026

- Bidco head coach Anthony 'Vieira' Akhulia has accused the centre referee of favouring Gor Mahia in yesterday's Kenya Premier League encounter at the Kasarani Stadium.

Akhulia says the nine extra minutes at the end of normal regulation were meant to allow their opponents an opportunity to score a winning goal.

"There were not much stoppages in the game, particularly in the second half, so I don't understand why he decided to add nine minutes. Five minutes or even six could have been understandable but nine was too much. It feels like part of a strategy to enable the opponent score a winning goal, which they did with less than two minutes to go," the gaffer said.

The oil merchants threw away a 1-0 halftime lead to eventually lose 2-1 to the record Kenya Premier League champions.

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Brian Oddoh's header in the 26th minute put them in the driving seat, the minnows looking to complete a season double over the league leaders.

However, new signing Ebenezer Assifuah continued his fairytale start to life in Kenya with the leveller in the 63rd minute.

Paul Ochuoga then broke Bidco hearts when he latched onto a loose ball in the penalty box to fire onto the roof of the net for the winner.

The gaffer believes that his players allowed K'Ogalo to grow in the game in the second half, leading to their ultimate collapse.

"We gave them time on the ball in the second half and allowed them to bully us. We did most of the defending in our half and that increased the risk of conceding. The equaliser they scored demoralised the players and we kind of deviated from the game plan," Akhulia said.

The defeat sees the oil merchants sliding deeper into the relegation zone, in 16th place with 15 points from 18 games.

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