Scottland Versus Karoi United Match Ends In Chaos After Referee "Fakes" Injury
The high-stakes Northern Region Soccer League (NRSL) match between Scottland and Karoi United at Chikangwe Stadium on Sunday ended prematurely due to an alleged assault on referee Mathew Dingo by some hooligans, a claim that has been disputed.
Scottland, owned by ZANU PF Member of Parliament Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya, is in the race for the title but now trails behind log leaders MWOS.
Reports indicate that 32-year-old Mathew Dingo may have “faked” an injury to justify abandoning the match in the 88th minute, with the score tied at 1-1.
Former Warriors defender Ronald Pfumbidzai put Scottland ahead in the first half, but Peter Bhero equalized for Karoi in the second half.
According to Soccer24, a Karoi United player, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the referee was struck by a match ball thrown back into play by a spectator, causing him to fall to the ground. Said the player:
It’s sad that the story is now being twisted. There was no violence whatsoever at the end of our game with Scottland.
The ball went out of play, and it was thrown back onto the field of play and accidentally hit the referee.
The referee exaggerated the impact and threw himself on the ground. We helped him to get back to his feet but he went down again, before telling the match commissioner that he was unable to continue.
What’s shocking in all of this, is the fact that he referee (Dingo) was able to walk to the dressing when the game was called off but was apparently not fit enough to officiate the remaining two minutes of it.
Before the second half started, the referee called our coach (Wonder Ngoko), who went onto the field of play. The official told Ngoko that the game was too tense and he was failing to handle it.
You can even ask the match commissioner if he is not aware of that incident. So it’s sad that the story is now being twisted to say spectators were violent and hurt the referee.
If our supporters wanted to react violently, they could have done so when our teammate Edmore (Mubatapasango) was show a questionable red card in the second half.
Meanwhile, MWOS secured a 2-1 victory over Harare City at Mkushi Academy grounds, while Black Rhinos suffered a 2-0 defeat to Chinhoyi Stars in Chinhoyi.
As a result, the NRSL title race is shaping up to be a two-horse competition between MWOS and Scottland.
The abandonment of the match between Scottland and Karoi United occurred just a week after another controversy when MWOS’s away game against Shamva Mine was marred by home team supporters invading the pitch and assaulting referee Never Dombo.
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