Africa-Press – Eswatini. Moneni Pirates have vowed to lodge a complaint with the Premier League of Eswatini regarding the inaugural MoMo Cup 2022 as they believe the rules and regulations were flouted in the final.
The ‘Sea Robbers’, as the team is fondly known, were beaten by Nsingizini Hotspurs 2-1 in extra time after the match ended in a 1-all draw in regulation time.
FIFA-accredited referee Leticia Vienna was in charge of the final sponsored by MTN FINTECH Eswatini with the tournament having began with a voting process.
After the final whistle, Pirates senior officials expressed their unhappiness as they stated that the rules clearly pointed out that the match should have gone straight to penalties after 90 minutes of play.
They quoted Article 13.2 of the 2022 MoMo Cup Rules and Regulations.
‘Each match shall last 90 minutes, i.e. two periods of 45 minutes with an interval as laid down in the Laws of the Games.
‘If no winner is decided within the 90 minutes in the play-offs, semi-finals and finals penalty shoot –outs shall take place, up to the sudden death penalties, if still no winner is decided after the normal five penalties from each club have taken,” reads the article.
Moneni Pirates Marketing Manager Sibusiso Nkambule said they were shocked by what transpired in the final.
“Yes the rules are clear about what should happen after 90 minutes if both teams are locked in deadlock. Anyway, our legal team is working on the matter,” he said briefly.
When probed further about their continuation of the match in question, Nkambule said they did it to avoid a skirmish.
“We decided to proceed with the match to avoid a skirmish which could have erupted if the match stopped during extra time.”
Premier League of Eswatini Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Makhanya said he was yet to learn about the protest from Pirates.
“I am unaware of any protest / compliant,” he briefly said. Meanwhile, Nsingizini Hotspurs Marketing and Communications Officer Mphikeleli Dlamini could not be drawn for comment on the matter.
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