The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) wants the decision by the Sports and Recreation Commission to suspend Zimbabwe Football Association general secretary (CEO) Joseph Mamutse nullified.
Fifa, in communication sent to Mamutse at the end of last month stated that in suspending the Zifa head of secretariat, the SRC appears to have not followed proper procedure since Zifa were not afforded an opportunity to be heard.
“We refer to your recent correspondence in relation to your apparent suspension as General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) from all forms of football administration by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), on the basis of the Sports and Recreation Commission Act (the Act).
In this respect, and as a preliminary remark, we note that the decision in question does not seem to have followed the correct procedure as provided for in Section 30 (1) of the Act, as Zifa was not even afforded an opportunity to be heard,’’ wrote Véron Mosengo-Omba, Fifa’s chief member associations officer.
Mosengo-Omba went on to state that Fifa are of the view that the decision to suspend Mamutse lacked fairness and should be overturned.
“In addition, and more importantly, we are of the opinion that the ground on which the relevant decision was taken, appears to have lacked any clear objectivity and impartiality.
More precisely, we would like to express our concern that article (c) of Section 30 (1) of the Act grants the SRC an extremely wide margin of interpretation in that it may decide, amongst other things, to suspend any officer of a registered national association in case it considers that the entity in question “conducted itself in a manner which is contrary to the national interest.
“We take the view that such wording may very well lead to decisions taken arbitrarily as the Act does not seem to define which particular actions might be deemed to go against “the national interest”. In view of this, we take the view that the decision of the SRC to suspend you as General Secretary of Zifa should be either invalidated or overturned,’’ continued Mosengo-Omba.
Fifa reminded Zifa that in terms of the world football governing body’s regulations, member associations have an obligation to manage their affairs without any influence from third parties. Failure to do so can result in the suspension of the respective member.
“In this context, we would like to remind you that according to article 14 par. 1 (i) and art. 19 paragraph 1 of the Fifa Statutes, member associations of Fifa, including Zifa, are obliged to manage their affairs independently and without undue influence from third parties. Any breach of such obligation might lead to sanctions as provided for in the Fifa statutes, which may also include the suspension of the member association.
In addition, any violations of article. 14 par. 1 (i) of the Fifa Statutes may also lead to sanctions, even if the third-party influence was not the fault of the member association concerned (article 14 paragraph. 3 of the Fifa Statutes),’’ said Mosengo-Omba.
SRC acting director general, Sebastian Garikai confirmed getting the communication from Fifa which he however, said does not stop them from carrying out processes that are already underway.
Sebastian Garikai
“The Sports and Recreation Commission confirms receipt of the letter from Fifa addressed to Zifa. It is important to note that this does not in any way hinder the Sports and Recreation Commission from conducting already instituted processes with regard to this matter. SRC shall continue with its investigations.
A position will be taken from the outcome of the investigations guided by the laws of Zimbabwe. However, SRC expects Zifa to respond to the merits of the matter notwithstanding any other position taken by Fifa,’’ Garikai said.
Mamutse was in November last year suspended together with SRC director general Prince Mupazviriho for allegedly flouting laid down protocols regarding the travelling of national football teams to South Africa.
— @Mdawini_29
