The FC MUZA proprietor stated that referees should not be the main topic at a football match, especially since there are proper procedures that need to be followed when lodging a complaint.

Speaking after FC MUZA suffered a 3-1 defeat to ZESCO United at Nakambala Stadium, Mweemba stated that it is unfair for referees to be subjected to public scrutiny, especially on social media, where they do not have the opportunity to defend themselves.

In the incident that happened to his team in Mazabuka, when they were denied what looked like a penalty in the second half after Andrew Phiri was brought down in the box by a ZESCO United defender, Mweemba said he respects the decision of the referee.

“If the referee has not given that one as a penalty, are you sure it will be right for us to start blaming ZESCO?” he asked.

“And start saying that maybe Zesco has colluded with the referee; is that going to be fair on ZESCO? It will definitely be very unfair on ZESCO if the referee makes the mistake. We just have to analyze it without being emotional.”

“My appeal is that we need to be fair in this country for all teams. This collusion and gossip that is going on [about referees favouring MUZA] have to come to an end.

“Somebody will be unfortunate one day because some of us when we talk, we want to talk with evidence.

“I don’t want to be talking about referees. Other people keep talking about referees and get away with it. Referees are part of FAZ and need to be protected…… Because we know what happens behind the scenes; referees have been punished.”

Mweemba calls referees’ protection

He states that slandering referees will tarnish the image of referees, thereby denting the credibility of football in Zambia.

“Do we really want to develop our football? We want referees to be ostracised, and FAZ should be announcing that this referee has been punished because of what he did in that game,” he wondered.

“We are going to ruin the credibility of that referee, and then you ruin football. As far as I’m concerned, referees have been disciplined before…… But these things are done behind the scenes because they [FAZ] have to protect the integrity of the game.

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“It is important to understand football, not people just attacking referees on social media where they don’t have the capacity to answer and defend themselves.

“If you feel there is a problem, there is a procedure that needs to be followed. FAZ is competent enough to deal with such issues.”