Sixteen rounds into the 2022/23 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) campaign, officiating in the top-tier continues to be an unresolved issue.Over the past weekend, there were mutual complaints from the coaches of both Ulinzi Stars and Gor Mahia from when the two sides clashed at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.Fans, those who caught the match at the venue as well as those who watched from the live stream shared the same sentiments, a general feeling that refereeing in the match was not standard.Referees non-payment pain bites on with potential match-fixing consequencesExperienced FIFA referee Peter Waweru was the center referee in charge, flanked by Gilbert Cheruiyot and Samuel Kuria as the first and second assistant referees respectively, with Brooks Philips being the fourth official to complete the all-FIFA lineup.Gor Mahia’s coach Johnathan McKinsty believed that they should have been awarded a penalty towards the end of the first half when Benson Omala went down in the box but the forward was instead booked for simulation.”I do not know how Omala was not awarded a penalty towards the end of the first half. He went through and the guy clearly took his leg but the referee booked him for diving. I said to the fourth official that they would be a little embarrassed when they look back at it because I think they got that wrong,” McKinstry said.##NAJAVA_MECA_7031942##Ulinzi Stars assistant coach Abdallah ‘Dalo’ Mohamed insisted that his team should have been awarded a penalty in the second minute of the match but the referee did not make the decision.In the case in point, Boniface Muchiri had his foot pulled right when he was about to strike the ball but Waweru waived play-on. In a different instance, a Gor Mahia defender seemed to have handled the ball in the box but nothing was awarded on that too.”In the second minute of the game we should have been awarded a penalty but it was not awarded and we respect the referee’s decision,” Dalo said.Three Kenyan referees earn FIFA badges for 2023, two droppedIn a different match, FC Talanta’s coach Ken Kenyatta opined that the penalty awarded against his team in favor of Kenya Police FC was not genuine.“I didn’t agree with the decision because my keeper had picked the ball but their striker came and bumped onto my keeper. It was not a genuine penalty and you could see my players did not agree with the decision and that is why they were mad. I had to go in and talk to them to allow the game to proceed. I am glad the setback didn’t get into their head,” the tactician offered after the game.
