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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Acting Sports Editor

ONE of the country’s most charismatic football characters and former Highlanders supremo, Ernest Maphepha Sibanda has called upon the national Under-17 coach Tafadzwa Mashiri to stop being used by football academy owners when it comes to national team selection.

Maphepha was reacting to Mashiri’s decision to leave out Bulawayo based youngsters in his provisional 36 men squad for the upcoming Cosafa Under-17 Championship set for the end of this month in South Africa.

A day after other legends, Thulani Biya Ncube and Mkhokheli Dube lashed out at Mashiri, with Dube describing the unprecedented move as an insult; Maphepha said it was through such embarrassing and sad actions that people will be left with no option but to allege tribalism.

He called on the whole of Bulawayo to rise up against such unfortunate developments, which he described as nonsense and rubbish.

“This is just nonsense, really. Mashiri should just see for himself that he is being used and he has to come out and tell the nation about this. Its embarrassing, selikwenza mgceke.

That is where we say there is tribalism and you say we are wrong. This is rubbish, its so bad. Stay with your Under-17 we will stay with our Bulawayo Juniors Chapter. Let us rise against this guys,” wrote Maphepha on Facebook while commenting on the story carried out by this publication on the exclusion of Bulawayo boys from the Under-17  squad called up by Mashiri.