Plateau Utd report Simba to CAF for unsportsmanlike conduct

.Want Tanzanian side sanctioned

By Akeem Lawal

THE management of Plateau United Football Club of Jos has appealed to the Confederation of African Football CAF to sanction Simba Sports Club of Tanzania over what it termed “unsportsmanlike conduct” during last Saturday's return leg of the first round preliminary fixture of the CAF Champions League played in Dar Es Salaam.

 

A statement from the Media Officer of the Club, Albert Dakup, regretted that in this jet age, Simba regard football as a do or die affair which explains why they indulged in the underhand dealings to win the match at all cost.

 

Dakup explained that in a quest to win at all cost, Simba maltreated the team right from the Julius Nyerere International Airport till the day of the match. He said the host deliberately delayed the accreditation process of the contingent at the immigration section of the airport, while top striker, Sunday Adetunji who only joined the team three months ago was denied passage out of the airport under the guise that his international passport is not duly signed by the relevant authorities in Nigeria. It however took the timely intervention of a Nigerian Immigration official, Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Austin Wuyep to have the matter resolved amicably.

 

Dakup said no single Simba official was at the Airport to receive the team and when the team finally got to the Blue Sapphire Hotel, it was another mild drama as the Tanzanian authorities insisted that the contingent must take the mandatory Covid-19 test before allowing the team walk out at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

 

“Two players who tormented Simba in Jos, Ibrahim Abubakar and Sunday Adetunji were suspiciously tested positive to Covid-19, when it was obvious the results has not reached the mandatory 24 hours.

 

“Not satisfied with the results of the test conducted by the Tanzanian Football Authorities, the team underwent another round of test of the two players and three officials including the General Manager of the club in another Laboratory to ascertain the validity of the first test and surprisingly, all the result returned negative.

 

“It is on this premise that the management of the club is calling in the CAF to do the needful by sanctioning Simba for the unsportsmanlike behavior stressing that there should be no place for such conduct in modern day football.

 

“The team urged the continental soccer ruling body to come down heavily on Simba in order to serve as deterrent to others who may like to toe the same path.”