Silver Strikers have appealed against Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Competitions Committee’s decision to dismiss their complaint on eligibility of two Leyman Panthers FC players namely Taniel Mhango and Aggrey Msowoya.
The Central Bankers, who lost to Panthers in a Castel Challenge Cup round-of-32 tie 4-3 on post-match penalties, lodged a complaint with Fam that the Chipiku Stores side featured Mhango and Msowoya who had already played for other teams in the same competition.
However, Fam in a statement dated November 14, 2024, faulted Silver’s protest of not following proper procedures.
“The Silver Strikers protest was deemed inadmissible as it did not follow the procedure of the protest on the qualification of the players who take part in the matches of the competitions as per article 14.1.1 and 14.1.2 of the Castel Challenge Cup rules and regulations,” the statement reads.
Article 14.1.1 states that the protest shall be preceded by a nominal and motivated protest formulated on the proper form before the match by the captain of the protest team and communicated to Match Commissioner/General Coordinator countersign it.
Article 14.1.2 states that the protest shall be registered by the captain of the concerned team at half time to the Match Referee and confirmed in writing soon after the match.
Fam has since said it will institute a separate investigation against all the concerned parties on the allegations Silver made.
In response to the matter yesterday, Silver Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chimimba said the Fam Competitions Committee misinterpreted the 2024 Castel Cup rules and regulations.
“Silver Strikers complained under article 14.2 of the Castel Challenge Cup rules and regulations. Fam competitions agreed with Silver Strikers in its ruling that there is merit in the complaint but the committee misled in applying the rules,” Chimimba said.
Article 14.2 states that any other protests shall be communicated to the Competitions Sub Committee within 48 hours of the match by email, telegram or telex or fax.
Silver lodged a complaint that Panthers violated article 16.6 of the competitions rules and regulations when they featured Mhango and Msowoya, who they claim had already played for Ekwendeni United and Mhuju, respectively.
Article 16.6 states that if a player already played for a team in the competition, the player cannot move and play for another team.
Panthers Team Manager Andy Chiphwanya asked for more time before commenting on the matter.
Silver were booted out of the Castel Cup after a 4-3 loss on post-match penalties after 2-2 in regulation time.
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