NKANA Football Club has appealed FAZ’s punishment for it to play Saturday’s game against NAPSA behind closed doors.
And Power Dynamos chief executive officer Happie Munkondya says the club will consider appealing the punishment meted at the club by FAZ over the supporters’ misconduct.
During the first Kitwe derby on May 20 that Power won 2-1, Power fans climbed the perimeter fence of the open wing section in celebrating the winning goal in the process bringing down the fence.
Nkana fans also replicated a similar celebration at Arthur Davies Stadium with their team leading 2-1 in the match that ended 2-2. The Nkana fans brought down the perimeter fence of the northern open wing section.
However, Power appealed to FAZ demanding that Nkana pays for the damage estimated at K15,000.
But Nkana made a counter claim estimated at K23,097.
The FAZ disciplinary committee considered the fans’ actions violent and ordered each party to reimburse each other the estimated costs including travel and accommodation costs accrued by either club officials that travelled for the hearing.
“We have ordered that the complainant (Power) be refunded the reasonable costs for travel to and from Lusaka together with accommodation and meal costs upon the production of receipts for those costs,” read the verdict in part.
The committee equally ordered Power Dynamos to reimburse Nkana on equal terms.
The committee further ordered Power to play Sunday’s game against Lumwana behind closed doors, the same with Nkana in their Saturday game against NAPSA Stars.
But reacting to the verdict, Nkana president Everisto Kabila said his executive committee has requested the club secretariat to appeal on grounds that there were no fighting or violence against each other by the fans in the two separate incidents and therefore the action to bar fans from watching the match was too harsh.
“We have appealed and want them (FAZ) to look at it critically. We feel people should be allowed to watch the game because the circumstances that led to the two incidents were not violence by rival fans towards each other to warrant such punishment,” Kabila said.
He said the appeal would also act as a stay to allow fans to watch the match pending the appeal hearing.
And Munkondya said: “We have just received correspondence from FAZ, we are studying the matter. We are still considering appealing ruling.”