New Era

WINDHOEK â€" The dust just refuses to settle in the aftermath of United Stars' error of judgement during their ill-fated MTC Premiership clash against Eleven Arrows at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay on Sunday.

The Rundu-based team staged a sit-down in protest of a referee's decision after one of their playing personnel was ordered off the pitch by referee Reinoldt Shikongo for misconduct.

Stars would not budge and apparently refused to let the said offender leave the playing field â€" obliging the match official to abandon the match prematurely after just 38 minutes of play.

Arrows was leading 2-1 at the time.

Long serving football official and chairperson of the MTC Premiership Management Committee Mabos Vries is not entirely impressed with the latest developments.

"It's crystal clear that the game of football has been brought into disrepute even though its' still premature to pinpoint the culprits. We are waiting for the match reports but that issue will enjoy top priority on our agenda during our weekly review on Tuesday (tonight), " said Vries.

Quizzed to elaborate on the severity of the damage resulting from such actions â€" the beefy football administrator would not be drawn into conclusions.

"As it stands, the real bone of contention is that the rules governing our football are extremely lenient when it comes to meting out punishment to players and teams alike.

"The rules are too amateurish and completely outdated, as they simply do not conform to the current setup but most importantly, they just don't address our vision."

On a parting shot, Vries reminded affiliates to take ownership. "Teams should realize that the league belongs entirely to them and should start taking responsibility for their actions because we as the management committee are only there to facilitate the process."

Powers of a disciplinary committee:

When a disciplinary committee has found a person or club guilty of misconduct, the disciplinary committee may impose any of a combination of the sentences mentioned opposite the misconduct.

a) failure to fulfil a league match, forfeiture of the points and the points and two goals shall be awarded to the opposing club in addition to a fine not exceeding N$1000

b) use of an improperly registered player in an official league match; (1) a deduction of the points and two goals; or (2) forfeiture of points and award the points and two goals to the opposing club and; (3) a fine not exceeding N$500

c) assaulting a match official, suspension from the football association for a period determined by the disciplinary committee but which shall not be less than two soccer seasons and a fine not exceeding N$5 000.

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