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Focus on poor officiating as clubs cry foul

There have been a few questionable calls by match day officials that have left the Federation with egg on the face

The farce that is bad officiating in the top tier Football Kenya Federation-Premier League is wading back much to the anguish of clubs and fans alike.

Since the turn of the year, there have been a few questionable calls by match day officials that have left the Federation with egg on the face. The latest case was when in a Sunday match pitting Kakamega Homeboyz FC and Gor Mahia FC, a goal by the former was denied sparking outrage that saw the home crowd confront officials later.

A fortnight ago, FKF issued a statement on assault of officials which was largely due to fans feeling enraged by bad calls by the men and women of the whistle.  This was on the lower divisions pitting matches of National Super League (3K FC vs. Kibera Black Stars FC) and Division One (GFE 105 FC vs. Compel FC).

“The Federation has received detailed match reports from the referees’ department concerning these incidents. The FKF Leagues and Competitions Committee (LCC) is following up with the clubs involved to obtain their responses regarding these matters promptly. As a Federation, we reiterate our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of match officials and promoting the highest standards of sportsmanship and integrity in the game. Violence or intimidation against match officials is unacceptable and will be addressed decisively.”

Centre Referee Josephine Wanjiku was at the end of two controversial calls that angered the Homeboyz technical bench led by Coach Francis Baraza who dubbed the situation sad and thus a stolen victory. An earlier goal by Moses Mudavadi was canceled and later a Moses Shumah effort was also incorrectly adjudged to be offside.

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Last week, in a meeting between Gor Mahia FC and Sofapaka FC, another controversial case was witnessed with K’Ogalo being awarded a goal but video replays showing that the ball had not crossed the line in its entirety. Musa Shariff wheeled away with his teammates in celebration while on the other hand the Sofapaka side felt hard done by. The match officials of the day Isaac Hamisi (centre Referee) and Adam Juma (Line Assistant) came under fire for their part in the decision to let the goal stand.

Ezekiel Akwana Coach of Sofapaka later on while speaking to the media condemned poor officiating. He went ahead to point out that the match referees, wanted them “to lose” the match with some outrageous against them. “We played well but if you look keenly, the referee had a fixed mind. He gave them a lot of advantages in midfield, and the second goal was given by the linesman despite it not being his call. We prepared well, but the officiating made Gor Mahia win.”

Last year in another case, a frustrated Bidco United FC Coach Anthony Akhulia complained that in their match against AFC Leopards SC, the Referee tended to favor Ingwe. In their game played late September in 2024, he slammed referee Israel Mpaima over what he claims to be biased officiating.

Leopards secured a 1-0 win over Bidco with new signing Sydney Lokale scoring the decisive goal 10 minutes from time on Saturday. It was the first win for Leopards against Bidco in eight attempts. It was as if he [referee] had a predetermined mind. Like AFC Leopards had to win. The fouls he gave were bogus, even a simple body charge he was booking our players.”

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