Nairobi City Stars have labeled the calls made by centre referee Caroline Wanjala in their 2-0 defeat away to Bidco United last weekend at Thika Stadium as suspect and called on the Caretaker Committee to stamp authority.Clips from the match, released by City Stars, left Wanjala with an egg on the face as she awarded two dubious penalties in the second half much to the amusement of either set of players.First, Wanjala awarded Bidco after Peter Nzuki floated in a corner kick that goalkeeper Steve Njung’e punched to safety without infringing on an opponent. Wanjala was seen suggesting that a City Stars player hanged on opponent’s shirt.With no live coverage, referees in the FKFPL and NSL are openly doing crazy things this season. At least @NrbCityStars records all its matches & we can review such weird calls, what about the other teams that do not? pic.twitter.com/DeR7jZIuJR— Jeff Kinyanjui (@Nyash88) March 7, 2022 Although the clip shows that there was no contact, Wanjala stood her ground and Nzuki would step up to fire home the opener for Bidco. In the second incident, Wanjala pointed to the spot in favour of City Stars after David Kalama brought Nicholas Kipkirui down but the challenge was made yards outside the box.Penalty or not? Same referee, same game #FKFPL pic.twitter.com/48Nl6FUJkN— Jeff Kinyanjui (@Nyash88) March 7, 2022 Ordinarily, a last man tackle is punished by a red card but surprisingly, Wanjala who was not better placed to see the incident pointed to the spot and showed leniency to the offender who was not even cautioned.Kipkirui watched his spotkick get palmed away by Brian Opondo but was handed an opportunity to redeem himself as Wanjala ordered a retake that was also saved.Reacting to the shocking calls made in the match that saw both sides finish with ten after Ezekiel Odera and Geoffrey Gitau saw red, City Stars believe that the dubious penalties dished were not as a result of human error.The club likened the nature of the calls to those made in their 4-4 draw away to Kakamega Homeboyz in January. CLUB STATEMENT: SUSPECT OFFICIATINGAn official statement from the club#CityStars #KPL pic.twitter.com/fXyeTkuYGE— Official Nairobi City Stars Fc (@NrbCityStars) March 8, 2022 Refereeing in the FKFPL and NSL has come under criticism recently with several stakeholders coming out to boldly state that the match officials are bribed to fix the games while others are betting hence openly force the matches go their way.”Lucas Odhiambo, Moses Simiyu, Caroline Wanjala and Vincent Ashira are referees who are openly biased and are letting the FKFPL and the game in general down. I can without fear say that they are working for Kakamega Homeboyz and therefore openly ensure other title contenders don’t win matches through their weird calls,” Posta Rangers Team Manager John Wahku told Mozzart Sport,”Caroline Wanjala officiates Kakamega Homeboyz games in Kakamega and she also officiates games of the second and third-placed teams under clear instructions that they should lose . Vincent Ashira officiates most Kakamega Homeboyz games in Nairobi and some in Kakamega. Moses Simiyu is also part of the cartel,” he added.Gusii United coach Andrew Ongwae says the issue is far much worse in the second-tier, the National Super League.”The referees are honestly spoiling the game. For instance NSL games in Coast are officiated by referees from the region which is a red flag. But the most weird thing is that they are not favouring the home sides but making very weird calls in favour of both teams. I have seen very soft penalties given and this basically shows the matches are being fixed.” He said.Latest Fifa actions against match fixing in Kenya – George Owino, ex-Harambee Stars defender, handed 10-year ban- Four former Kakamega Homeboyz players given 4-year bans each- And now, Zoo FC (Photo) relegated Criminalise this thing! pic.twitter.com/2ys1kONxGu— Bonface Osano (@bonfaceosano) May 4, 2021 A football stakeholder who did not wish to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter claims that most match officials in the FKFPL and NSL are working for local match-fixing dons.”They are powerful people with deep pockets who are financing all these. They bribe the match officials and in turn place huge bets in unregulated gambling markets mostly in Asia. It is something that has been happening for a very long time but it has gotten worse due to the fact that the matches are not live on TV anymore and the referees are therefore not closely monitored. They (officials) are poorly paid as well and therefore it is very easy to approach them to manipulate matches.” The source said.Match fixing has been an Achilles’ heel in Kenyan football for a while now. FIFA banned various Kenyan players for match manipulation while Zoo FC was demoted from the top-tier to the NSL for the same after a series of investigations into the deeply-rooted vice in the game.Additional reporting by Jeff Kinyanjui
