AFC Leopards responsible for 'paper gaffe', says KPL
The fourth official holds a piece of paper to call for the substitution of Ulinzi Stars' midfielder Daniel Waweru (unseen) during the SportPesa Premier League match between AFC Leopards and Ulinzi Stars on April 5, 2017 at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- The entertaining league clash between the two title-chasing sides at Kenyatta Stadium ended goalless.
The Kenyan Premier League is demanding answers from AFC Leopards following an embarrassing gaffe that forced match officials to use pieces of paper instead of an electronic board to enforce substitutions during their match with Ulinzi Stars on Wednesday.
The entertaining league clash between the two title-chasing sides at Kenyatta Stadium, which had been rescheduled due to Ulinzi’s Caf Confederation Cup commitment in Round One of the 2017 season, ended goalless.
Focus from the game especially among fans on social media and sections of the international media has, however, been trained at the sight of the fourth official lifting pieces of papers to indicate the jersey number of the players to be subbed, plus the number of minutes added on at the end of both halves.
In their rebuttal, the Kenyan Premier League released a statement absolving itself from blame and maintaining that Leopards, as the home team, are answerable.
"AFC Leopards as (the) home team should have ensured that proper equipment for signaling substitutions is provided by the owners of the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos County, as this is part of what is paid when hiring a facility to host a match." KPL said in a statement, which was posted on the company's official website.
The league body also announced in the same communique that the match officials will now be required to enforce the rule to the letter, including testing of the boards during the pre-match meetings.
