Sports Tribunal suspends Committee decision to sanction Gor

• The Gor v Bullets match was abandoned at halftime
• Gor Mahia fans had stormed the pitch after a clash with stewards
• The Caretaker Committee had given Bullets points from that match

The John Ohaga-led Sports Disputes Tribunal has suspended the Football Kenya Federation Caretaker Committee’s decision to sanction Gor Mahia over crowd trouble that prevented the completion of their match against Vihiga Bullets in Nairobi last month.

The Committee had on Thursday slapped K’Ogalo with a two-match empty stadium punishment and awarded points from the aborted Bullets game to the Premier League newcomers.

However, Gor moved to the SDT to appeal the decision, and in turn got a favourable ruling.

“That pending the hearing and determination of this application interpartes before this honourable tribunal, an order be and is hereby issued suspending the implementation of the sanctions in the letter dated 10th March 2020 against the petitioner,” a statement from the Tribunal read.

The match between Gor and Bullets was abandoned at halftime on February 13 after fan trouble. A section of the club’s supporters clashed with stewards, the violence spilling to the pitch after one of the stewards was accused of clobbering a fan who had jumped over the fence to avoid paying the Sh200 entrance fee.

With the chaos that got into the pitch at halftime, Vihiga Bullets refused to return to the pitch citing fears over their security and despite talks for close to 20 minutes, the game had to be abandoned.

A photo of the fans’ wife storming the pitch with a massive rock on her hand after being angered by the beating her husband received went viral across all social media platforms.

This photo went viral across all platforms. PHOTO/Standard

In its ruling the Caretaker Committee had found Gor guilty of causing abandonment of the tie and hence awarded the three points to Bullets, and ordered them to play their next two home matches behind closed doors.

“After review of the match officials’ report, Gor Mahia forfeits the match in accordance with rule 3.5.6 of the rules and regulations governing Kenyan football which states “a club will forfeit any match which was abandoned because of the misconduct of their supporters”. Gor Mahia forfeits the match on a 2-0 basis as per rule 3.3.3,” a statement from the Committee stated.

Gor were leading 1-0 in the tie at halftime, with the goal scored by George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo.

The points would have been a huge boost for Bullets who are looking to rake themselves out of the relegation zone while for Gor Mahia, it would have been a massive blow to their title ambitions as they are currently trailing leaders Kakamega Homeboyz by 11 points.

The sanctions would have also meant that their game against Kenya Police FC on Sunday at Kisumu would have been played behind closed doors but now, the Tribunal has okayed for the return of fans.

After the fracas, Gor Mahia were barred from using either the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani or the Nyayo National Stadium, both of which are managed by Sports Kenya. The fracas at the Kasarani Stadium led to a massive destruction of stadium property, including smashing of glass doors and seats.

This is not the first time that Gor Mahia have been handed suspensions and barred from facilities due to crowd trouble.