A livid Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano is calling for tough sanctions against match officials who intentionally ruin Kenyan Premier League encounters with dubious calls.
Matano claimed his team had brazenly been allegedly robbed of victory in broad daylight following their barren draw against Posta Rangers at the Ruaraka Sports grounds on Sunday.
'The Lion' questioned the referee’s decision to deny them three obvious penalties which saw them emerge from the match with a solitary point. “The lowest and most impoverished. This referee is unlike any I have ever seen. Why does everyone see? How come the center referee, out of the three, is the only one who cannot see a penalty?” Matano posed.
“We came here to play against Posta Rangers, who are the best team in the league, but if that’s how they got there—through favouritism—that’s not football,” Matano angrily remarked.
The gaffer said he had no problem losing in a fairly officiated match, adding that referees assigned to officiate high-profile matches must rise to the occasion. “I haven’t complained despite losing a lot of matches. However, this one is a heist. Daylight theft!” he said.
Matano has also demanded that the committee of referees suspend or remove the aforementioned centre referee.
“It’s not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing since it’s all in his head. He does it on purpose,” Matano stated.
“Because he has no place refereeing football and is ruining the game and the players’ enthusiasm after they have worked so hard to win, he ought to be punished or even expelled. However, he is acting as though he has been bought off because he ensured that we will not prevail,” Matano added.
The outcome has the Ruaraka-based Brewers 12th on the log with 16 points, 12 adrift of leaders Gor Mahia.
His remarks came barely a week after Nzoia Sugar head coach Godfrey Oduor raised similar qualms after their two-all draw against league leaders Gor Mahia.
