LUSAKA Province minister Bowman Lusambo says Forest Rangers was denied the chance to win the MTN Super League on Sunday due to poor officiating.
Speaking to the Mast Sports, Lusambo compared match referee Milton Mweemba to Jean-Fidele Diramba, the Gabonese referee who infamously officiated the crucial World Cup qualifier between Morocco and Zambia in 1993.
Needing only a point to qualify to the USA 1994 World Cup, Zambia were narrowly beaten 1-0, a loss many local fans have long attributed to Diramba’s questionable decisions.
Lusambo, who is also Kabushi PF member of parliament, said Mweemba acted like Diramba when he failed to give the Fole Malembe boys a penalty in the first half of last weekend’s game when Lameck Silwamba went down in the box.
“My message to Forest Rangers is that they have performed very well. The team of [coach] Tenant Chilumba is a very good team and we want to thank the boys for showing the confidence when they played Napsa Stars and also Zanaco Football Club. You know in football you come out with a win, lose and draw and on this game it was a draw,” he said. “But you remember in 1993 Zambia played a game and there was a referee called Diramba who spoiled the party for Zambia and I can assure you we had a Diramba on Sunday because a penalty that was supposed to be our penalty, the referee couldn’t give us and it was penalty which was in white and black. Any person that can analyse using football expertise, I can assure, they can say the referee erred. The other person who erred was a linesman because he was in the position to tell the referee what happened. It was a penalty. So the referee spoiled our game but our aim is not to argue with match officials.”
Lusambo added that Rangers has the patience to wait for another chance to win the league.
“Our plan was to win the game outright. We don’t win our games like that, we have patience and they showed us. When we were at ZAFFICO, when you plant a pine it will grow in 10-15 years then you harvest: that’s the patience which we have. So when you see us being unfairly treated we know that victory is coming tomorrow,” he said. “The big thing is that the team finished number two. In the actual sense there is no number two. They are both [Nkana and Forest] number one it’s just the goal difference and for us we played the 90 minutes game while Nkana got the points from boardroom. But us we played and thanks to the appeals committee we played football on the pitch and 90 minutes decided who has won the title and congratulations to Nkana.”
Lusambo said Rangers would come back strong next season.
“God knows why Forest came out number two but watch out for the Malembe Boys in the continental next season and of course the league as we are ready for any team. We are ready for any team. Our team is very good. Look at [Webster] Muzaza how he has showed his skills among many other players in the team. We are happy, we are there and I know the team and management at ZAFFICO have moved on from the Zanaco game to the next challenge and we are proud of you and we are moving with our heads high when we are putting on Fole Malembe Malembe replica,” said Lusambo. “Most of the people were trying to figure out why Bowman is supporting Forest Rangers. I just want to tell them I am a Forest boy. I stayed with my father in Chichele, I stayed with my father in Dola Hill. From 1988 I have been staying in that area, I know the place very well that’s why I love Forest Rangers and it’s not a team which you support when you like the way they dress or the way they play football. No, it’s a team which has been on our hearts and not only me [but] a lot of people who passed through Dola Hill.”