The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Malawi has ordered the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to pay former Flames head coach Meck Mwase the full value of his salary per what expatriate managers get.

The judgement was tabled yesterday following Mwase’s stand to sue the association for unlawful termination of contract, redeployment, and constructive dismissal.

IRC deputy chairperson Edna Bodole said Mwase was treated unfairly, saying the coach was discriminated against in terms of pay as he was placed on an inferior wage scale as compared to the expatriates.

“The court will assess the compensation payable to Mwase as back pay,” she said.

Following the verdict, FAM is required to pay Mwase for the entire 36 months of his contract with the same or similar wage scale as former Flames expatriate coaches Romanian Mario Marinica and Belgian Ronny Van Geneugden (RVG), who were his successor and predecessor, respectively.

How much will Mwase receive?

Before FAM fired Mwase, he was receiving K1.7 million (about $ 1,000) as his monthly salary, while Marinica was getting $8500 (about K14.4 million).

RVG’s pay was at least $7500 (about K12.7 million).

According to court direction, the former Flames coach, through his lawyer, David Kanyenda, will file an assessment of the compensation to determine the sum of money that his client will receive.

If Marinica’s pay is used as a basis for equating the salary, then Mwase is entitled to go home with about K500 million.

Kanyenda has described the judgement as a mixed bag.

“The judgement is a mixture of salt and sugar. But we are happy because what we wanted most has been granted,” he said.

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FAM fired Mwase with a year left on his contract in April 2022 and replaced him with Marinica, who was then the technical director.

Mwase guided the Flames to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Cameroon, where they reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history.