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Burundi referee Suavis Iratunga

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA have officially launched a complaint against the inept Burundi referee Suavis Iratunga whose weird decision denied Zimbabwe a share of the spoils against Egypt at the ongoing 10th  African Women Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

The match was played on Tuesday evening and the Mighty Warriors, who went down to an 82nd minute goal by the Egyptians, immediately replied two minutes later through a perfect goal by Felistas Muzongondi who struck from the blind side.

“Zifa lodge an official complaint against Burundi referee,” posted the association’s communications manager on the official Zifa twitter page last night.

The clearly confused referee first indicated a goal, for which it was, but after consulting with her assistant Akoua Kossonoux from Côte d’Ivoire, disallowed the effort for reasons best known to themselves.

Television replays clearly showed that Muzongondi was not off-side, by a country mile, with a number of Egyptian defenders ahead of her when the ball was whipped across goal.

Neither was there any infringement on the Egyptian goalkeeper Shehata Maha, who theatrically went down after being beaten by the effort, and amid confusion, the referee decided not to award the goal.

According to football rules though, the referee’s decision is always final and the only solace that the Mighty Warriors might get is the sanctions that are likely to be given to the officials.

In the 1990s, Zimbabwe lost to Angola through a dubious goal which was scored from an indirect free kick. Appeals were made but Caf only suspended the referee. The Mighty Warriors will take on Cameroon in their last group qualifier tomorrow and a loss for the girls will see them flying back home during the weekend.