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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
MASVINGO United have lodged a complaint with the Zifa Eastern Region over the promotion of Mutare City Rovers into the Premier Soccer League saying the Eastern Highlands outfit used an ineligible player Tafadzwa Mkahlera.

Mutare City Rovers won the Eastern Region League on the last day of the season after Masvingo United drew their must-win game.

Masvingo said Mkahlera belongs to them and his contract expires on December 31, but was irregularly registered and used by Mutare City Rovers in two matches without a clearance.

The complaint letter dated December 8 was addressed to Zifa Eastern Region administrator Thaddeus Machawira and copied to Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze.

According to Masvingo United secretary-general Collen Maboke, the league promised to resolve the issue by December 31.

Maboke said Machawira had initially refused to accept their letter of complaint, advising the club to deliver it to the league’s secretary-general Wisdom Mutasa in Mutare.

“When we first tried to hand our letter to Machawaira, he surprisingly told us to send it to Mutare where the secretary-general lives. We found this unprocedural considering that the Masvingo office is the headquarters of the Eastern Region,” said Maboke.

“However, when we went back, our letter was accepted and were promised the matter would be resolved by December 31. We hope that this will be done so that in the event the ruling goes in our favour, we are able to prepare for the Premier League in time,” he said.

Maboke said Mkahlera has been on their books since 2014 and only stopped training with the team after he was suspended and charged by the club, but relocated to Mutare before his disciplinary hearing.

He said Mkahlera returned to Masvingo in the company of a man claiming to be a Mutare City Rovers official seeking his clearance which they denied him.

“They wanted us to clear the boy, but we told them that he had a pending disciplinary case and we were unwilling to clear him,” Maboke said.

Mkahlera featured in Mutare City Rovers’ 2-1 win over Renco in which he scored as well as the last game of the season that they beat Ruwa 2-0 to win the league and secure a PSL slot.

Having lost out on promotion by a single point, should Mutare City Rovers be found guilty and docked six points for the two matches under contention, Masvingo will return to the PSL for the first time since being relegated in 2011.