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Sikhumbuzo Moyo in Sun City, South Africa
ZIMBABWE yesterday officially lodged a complaint against Botswana referee Joshua Bondo over his handling of the Warriors’ Group B encounter with Madagascar on Wednesday evening.

The match ended 0-0, but the 39 year-old centre man made a number of strange decisions, a majority of which went against Zimbabwe. He denied Zimbabwe two penalties following clear fouls on Zimbabwe forwards inside the box.

The official, who early this year was at the centre of controversy after he head-butted an Angolan player during an international friendly against South Africa, either chose to ignore the incidents or waved play on. The two incidents, all coming in the last five minutes of the game, could have changed the complexion of the game as the two teams were tied 0-0 and a penalty for the Warriors could almost certainly have guaranteed them maximum points and qualification to the quarter-finals against Swaziland on Sunday.

Instead, the Warriors now find themselves uncertain of their progress in the tournament. In a letter to the Cosafa organising committee, Zimbabwe said they are also playing today’s match against Seychelles under protest. The Warriors’ technical team said they were denied two clear penalties in a space of two minutes by Bondo.

They highlighted two specific incidents involving Raphael Manuvire and Ovidy Karuru and various contradictions between Bondo and his assistants.

“The Zimbabwe technical team would like to express its dismay and displeasure at the poor match officiating displayed by referee Joshua Bondo in our match against Madagascar at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Wednesday. The controversial match officiating displayed by Bondo denied Zimbabwe its much needed victory as our legitimate penalty appeals were denied.

“In the 85th minute, our player Raphael Manuvire was hacked down in the penalty area and the referee waved play on. In the 87th minute, our captain Ovidy Karuru was sent flying by Madagascar goalkeeper Jean Dieu Donne Randrianasolo and again Bondo ruled otherwise and denied us a penalty. The referee was explicitly biased against our team and on many occasions, he seemed to contradict his assistants and communication breakdown was clear between him and his counterparts. In light of the above, we appeal to the responsible authorities to investigate this match as poor officiating spoils the beauty of the game.

“By copy of this letter, we are also advising the organisers of the tournament that we will play the next match against Seychelles under protest,” reads the letter of complaint.

In 2015, Zimbabwean referee Ruzive Ruzive was expelled from the Cosafa tournament over allegations of poor handling of a Group B match between Madagascar and Swaziland.

The complaint by Zimbabwe comes hard on the heels of a stern warning against poor officiating by Caf president Ahmad Ahmad, who told referees during a recent elite referees’ course in Botswana that he will not hesitate to come down hard on inept officials as well as those who appoint them.

“My presence among you today is an opportunity to formulate a verbal warning to all the referees and those in charge of their monitoring. I tend not to make use of the yellow card by forgetting it voluntarily in the dressing room. Any ethics breach, once proven, will be sanctioned with a direct red card, without prejudice to additional sanctions.

“I invite those in charge of evaluation and monitoring referees to follow this path. We are confident in the fact that we have appointed the right persons for the job. I would like to remind them that corporate solidarity in mistakes is detrimental to African football. Your silence or the absence of sanctions will make you accomplices. We will not hesitate to take our responsibilities, if you fail to take yours.  A new era is opening for African football. Together we must work to materialise it. Transparency occupies a central place in it as I never ceased to recall it long before my election. The conduct of the referees, on and off the pitch, and the decisions they make must remain faultless. This will be their decisive contribution to the realisation of the programme on which I was elected,”  Ahmad was quoted as saying.