Gor Mahia always win matches fair and square

Referee Sylvester Kirwa intervenes during a Premier League match between Gor Mahia and Tusker on March 26, 2014. FILE PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU

What you need to know:

  • How many times have the Green Army taken matters into their own hands and disrupted matches where the referees show open bias?
  • My advice to the Chemelil tactician is simple — up your game and win as many matches as you can.

“A man who sits next to a beautiful girl and says nothing will one day end up fetching water at her wedding.”

I am not sure from which part of the African continent I got this proverb from but somehow I just liked it, if for no any other reason but for its truth.

It played in my head this week after reading some comments attributed to Chemelil Sugar coach Mike Mururi claiming that the sole reason Gor Mahia performed poorly at the Cecafa Club Championship in Rwanda was because of K’Ogalo’s penchant to rely on referees to swing matches their way.

According to reports attributed to the online sports portal Goal.com, and which Mururi has not denied, this reliance on match officials was the bane of Gor.

“Gor Mahia are suffering from a self-inflicted problem. They are used to local referees favouring them to win matches in Kenyan Premier League. When they get neutral officials it becomes difficult for them to perform and this is what happened in Rwanda,” the Chemelil coach was quoted as saying.

Thankfully, Gor Mahia management did not take the comments lying down with club official Ronald Ngala being quick on the draw in telling Mururi off.

“Mururi’s comments show only ignorance. He does not understand that performance is dictated by many things. Our own coach Bobby Williamson has been summoned by KPL disciplinary body over comments he made about refereeing. How can he say that we are being favoured?” Ngala wondered.

I can only concur.

DISRUPTED MATCHES

If Mururi is to be believed, the sole reason his congregation of journeymen going by the name of Chemelil Sugar have never won the league or any other trophy is “poor refereeing” with match officials hell bent on giving Gor Mahia all the games.

Nothing could be further from the truth. On the converse, how many times — though I do not approve of this — have the Green Army taken matters into their own hands and disrupted matches where the referees show open bias?

Mururi’s comments therefore hold no water.

My advice to the Chemelil tactician is simple — up your game, win as many matches as you can and who knows, maybe one of these days your team might end up winning the league then you can also go to Cecafa Cup and post good results.

In truth, that would amount to being overly optimistic, if you ask me.

But then again Mururi could be suffering from what author Francis Scott Fitzgerald in his book The notebooks of F. Scott Fitzgerald says: “Optimism is the content of small men in high places.”

I have attended many league matches where the referees seem to come to the stadium with the sole agenda of frustrating K’Ogalo.