FCB Nyasa Big Bullets have said they have ‘lost hope’ over the delayed response from Confederation of African Football (Caf) on their complaint match against officiation in their Caf Champions League second leg match against Red Arrows at National Hereos Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia, last month.
Bullets lodged a complaint to Caf as they were not amused with the officiating panel led by Libyan referee Elmabrouk Muhammad.
In an interview Wednesday, Bullets acting Chief Executive Officer Albert Chigoga said they had received no feedback from Caf on the matter.
He said they had given up on the basis that the second round preliminary matches were progressing.
“It is to suggest that progress of the competition at this disregards the complaints lodged. Of course, we complained about officiation and not the opponents,” Chigoga said.
Bullets bowed out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate after they lost the second leg 2-0 in Lusaka, Zambia. They won the first leg 2-1 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Chigoga said they followed all the necessary procedures before lodging the complaint to Caf after consulting Football Association of Malawi (Fam).
“We are not exactly aware of how complaints are managed at that level. But we were properly guided on the procedure by Fam and we did everything per the guidelines,” he said.
After the match, Bullets described the penalty which the officiating panel awarded Arrows as dubious.
On top of that, Bullets claimed that they were denied two clear penalties after midfielder Lloyd ‘Banega’ Aaron and striker Ephraim Kondowe were fouled in the box.
In post-match interview, Bullets coach Kalisto Pasuwa cried foul over lack of fair play. He also described the officiation as an embarrassment to African football.
“The game is decided by something else, which does not go well with our African football in this Champions League,’’ he told journalists in Zambia then.
Arrows lost the first leg of the second preliminary round 2-0 to TP Mazembe at Levy Mwanawansa Stadium on Saturday. Mazembe have two Malawian players Lanjesi Nkhoma and Patrick Mwaungulu but they did not play in the match.
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