Pamzo: Absurdity reigned in the suspended Shabana, Posta match

Shabana FC Head Coach Sammy 'Pamzo' Omollo has blamed the match officials who were set to officiate their suspended match against Posta Rangers on September 10, saying they caused abnormal football distraction.

Pamzo says his team was left in an awkward situation following the events of the say at the Gusii Stadium, saying it was unprecedented for a match to fail because of referees going AWOL.

The Ex-Kenyan international thus says there needs to be a serious consequence to ensure that such events are not normalised in Kenya's football.

"Everybody was disappointed because we were ready to play a Premier League match the Gusii Stadium after 18 years of waiting. The referees who were to officiate the match carry all the blame because we did a pre-match and agreed on the team’s arrival and the kick-off time, but on arrival, they were nowhere to be seen,’’ lamented the coach.

Pamzo feels the Shabana fans are to be thanked for the calmness they exhibited even after the highly anticipated match failed to take place.

"It is important to appreciate the fans because after the incident, they did not cause any chaos. We still need our fans in our upcoming matches, and I want to urge them that they should not lose hope because the team will always work to their best,’’ said Omollo, calling for sobriety among the Shabana faithful all the time.

A week prior to the match that never was, Shabana fans were accused of vandalising facilities at the Ulinzi Sports Complex when their hosts Ulinzi Stars equalised to get a 2-2 draw in the death.

In the wake of the ugly incident, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) ordered Shabana to play five matches without fans, as part of several other sanctions.

However, the club moved to court and obtained stay orders which allowed the fans to be allowed into the stadium, for the failed match.

After playing two league matches, Shabana are 12th in the Kenyan Premier League with two points. Omollo suggests that the team is making a great step compared with last season.

‘’The team is on the right track, because looking at the last two league matches which we played away, we got a draw against Ulinzi Stars and Bidco United. We lost in those specific fixtures last season, so we can see some improvement.’’