So where do we start?Harambee Stars staying on brand, how does the squad look ahead of a home Africa Nations Championships (CHAN), or the bizarre happenings on Friday night?Guess it would be the latter, a series of un-anticipated incidents that have ushered more questions about the state of mind of all involved, unfortunately.##NAJAVA_MECA_8624881##A mini-scuffle in the first-half was the prelude of a nine-minute stoppage in the second period, littered with nothing a game of football – meant to unite – should attract.That should ideally be the presumption, but with a caveat.If emotions are kept in check, or in extreme circumstances, a presence of savvy heads able to rapidly extinguish fires of aggression that are normal in competitive environments à la at Gombani Stadium where qualification to the Mapinduzi Cup final solely depended on this one matchup between Kenya and hosts Zanzibar.Oh to live in an ideal world.PLAYER ANALYSIS: Why Kariobangi Sharks’ Andreas Odhiambo is among exciting Kenyan young talentsIt all came crashing down in the 67th minute when Alphonce Omija was adjudged to have committed a foul just outside the box, a call that drew the ire of several Stars players, led by captain Abud Omar.As a leader, Omar, on as a second-half substitute, took it upon himself to launch a tirade at the centre referee, even going overboard to initiate contact, frequently bumping his athletic body on the now marooned official.At that point, a red card was brandished, only for the Kenya Police FC left-back to swipe it away from the referee’s arm, causing a scene barely believable.Abud Omar has picked a very useless red card.He should know better as a captain.— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) January 10, 2025 The referee, probably incensed by words said to him, threw a punch in Omar’s direction, the big tipping point in a frenetic fixture settled by a late Ali Khatib Inzagi header.Harambee Stars eliminated from Mapinduzi Cup after conceding late winnerIn assessing the situation, you’ve got a national team captain playing for Kenya Police doing the exact opposite of what order and leadership entails, and the same goes to the referee, for failing to take control of the situation, say making it worse.The referee turns into prime Muhammed Ali after the controversial red card to Harambee Stars Captain Abud Omar inthe game that knocked out Kenya in the 2025 Mapinduzi Cup Tournament after a 1-0 win by Zanzibar Heroes#FootballKE pic.twitter.com/XA7hMFPqJD— Futa Fiti (@FutaFitii) January 11, 2025 The aggressor in this instance will come under intense scrutiny, and it is obvious that his selection as skipper was flawed.One only needs to go back to history, raise a few eyebrows, and say: “Well, nothing out of the ordinary.”Donning the armband carries with it a responsibility to set standards the team should follow, while acting as a ‘mediator’ when things go awry.None of that was existent on Friday night, and it was intriguing to see him treated to a bear hug as he walked off the field, despite his promise of “pushing the team to give their best and lead by example” falling awfully flat.The cup might not matter in the grander scheme of things for Harambee Stars, and thus the dismay to how a trivial call led to a public show of indiscipline and bad culture.Francis Kimanzi appoints his Harambee Stars captain for Mapinduzi CupUp until then, Stars showed all signs of progress and grit – more players look to be in the CHAN squad rather than out – but the attention now is not all on the good stuff, but consequences of overblown emotions as seen in the immediate rearguard action that resulted in another late goal.Calm(er) heads will be needed going forward.
