The Misaje football tournament, sponsored by Interim Minister of Mines and Industries, Prof. Fuh Calistus Gentry, has come under scrutiny for discriminating against a Muslim-dominated team, Al Hilal FC.
A source taking part in the competition told MMI that referees and match officials violated the rules of the game, much to the dissatisfaction of Al Hilal FC of Mesaje.
The alleged discrimination is marred by interference from the Mesaje Divisional Officer, Kum Eric, who is reportedly making matters even worse for the team.
“In our match on Sunday, the 14th, which was the launch of the tournament, the red card was awarded to our player because the assistant divisional officer asked the referee to award him a red instead of the yellow he deserved,” a source supporting the team told MMI.
During Al Hilal’s second match on Monday, July 22, things got even more complicated as the referee reportedly implored all means to push the team out of the competition.
“In our second match, we played this match for 26 minutes, and a fake penalty was awarded to our opponents. We refused; it wasn’t a penalty because the incident occurred out of the box, but the referee refused,” our source at the tournament further explained.
The team is worried that the discrimination could be because most players are from a Muslim religious background.
“Here in Misaje, we, the Muslim boys, are being termed troublemakers in this competition, and the authorities keep on questioning us about why our team is made of only Muslim boys,” MMI was told.
MMI has yet to reach out to the organizers of the jamboree on these allegations.
