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Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
DYNAMOS yesterday stuck to their decision to boycott the rescheduled Independence Cup final replay against FC Platinum when they did not turn up at Rufaro attracting unspecified Zifa sanctions in the process.

FC Platinum turned up for the match but found the gates locked while there were indications that Zifa had not booked the venue. There were no referees, police, ambulance and fans or any sign to show that a match had been set for Rufaro.

The Uhuru Cup final was abandoned after 65 minutes due to a power cut at the National Sports Stadium on Independence Day with Dynamos leading 1-0.

Zifa ordered a fresh start which did not go down well with Dynamos and for the past weeks the club insisted that they were not going to fulfil the fixture.

On April 22 Dynamos expressed reservation of playing in the rescheduled match and yesterday they stuck to their guns as they did not turn up for the match. This saw FC Platinum being crowned champions.

Dynamos chairman, Kenny Mubaiwa early this week said they would not play and pointed out that they had notified Zifa in time on their position concerning yesterday’s match.

“They wrote reminding us that the Independence Cup is on next week but we wrote back to them explaining our position.

“We’ve already stated our reasons. It’s not possible for us to play, we cannot take part especially with the situation we find ourselves in as a club.

“The good thing is we didn’t catch them by surprise. We notified them of our position well in advance. I think some three weeks ago, and by now they should have found a replacement if they really wanted this game to take place,” Mubaiwa told our Harare Bureau.

However, FC Platinum, who were in Harare by Tuesday for the final had to proceed to Gwanzura for a training session with the Warriors when they realised that the match would not take place.

FC Platinum spokesperson, Chido Chizondo said it’s unfortunate the match did not take place before indicating that they would take advantage of the situation to prepare their team for Saturday’s game against Triangle.

“It’s unfortunate but I’m sure Zifa will make a statement with regards to that and us travelling to Harare. We have however, taken the opportunity to train in Harare.

“But it’s very unfortunate we travelled but we will take this opportunity to get our guys ready for Saturday’s game,” said Chizondo.

In a statement released by Zifa on their website late yesterday FC Platinum were crowned the 2015 Independence Cup Champions.
Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze told the association’s website that they are going to decide on the appropriate course of action against Dynamos.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association would like to inform the football fraternity and the nation at large that following the withdrawal of Dynamos Football Club from the Independence Cup replay, FC Platinum are automatically 2015 Uhuru Champions.

“The Independence Cup is part of the national Independence celebrations programme to celebrate Zimbabwe’s hard won independence.

“Zifa takes great exception to the behaviour exhibited by Dynamos and the association will communicate the course of action it will take in due course.

“We would like to thank all teams which participated in this year’s Independence Cup,” Mashingaidze said.

The Independence Cup final is usually free for supporters since it is part of the Independence Day celebrations programme. But for yesterday’s game fans were expected to pay $2 for the rest of the ground, $5 for the grand stand and $10 for the VIP.