Photo Credit - Simba SC Tanzania.
Tanzanian Premier League Board (TPLB) have warned Simba SC against their intentions not to honour their Mainland Premier League fixture against Young Africans (Yanga SC) at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Saturday.
The Msimbazi Reds issued a strong statement confirming that they will not honour the eagerly awaited Kariakoo derby citing Yanga’s decision to block their team from training in the matchday venue ahead of the clash.
“Following the incident, and the breaking of the rules by the home team, denying the away team chance to train at the match venue, Simba will not participate in the derby until justice prevails. Simba calls on the league body to take action against all those involved,” read part of Simba’s statement as earlier covered by Pan-Africa Football.
However, TPLB has issued a statement as obtained by Pan-Africa Football;
“The board of Premier League have received a complaint letter from Simba on the problems they faced before they face Yanga. As a board, we have taken into consideration Simba’s complain and launched quick investigations over the matter.
“However, apart from that, we want to remind Simba that according to the league’s rules Article 15(10), any team that participates in the league must honour all the fixtures as released by the league’s board without fail. A team can only skip a match if they have tangible reasons that have been approved by the league body.
“If Simba fail to honour the game as per their letter, they will face disciplinary action as per Article 16(1), which is line with team’s that don’t honour scheduled fixtures. And as per Article 17(45) which states that a team must train in a matchday venue before any given game, we will make sure that this is followed to the letter, and disciplinary action taken against those breaking and going against those rules.
“Following the league rules, we request Simba to proceed and honour the fixture as planned, putting in mind the fans, who have already bought tickets for the game, league sponsors and the league itself. Simba’s complain will be investigated at an appropriate time.”
Simba have lost to Yanga already twice this season. The first defeat came in the Community Shield final where Yanga won 2-1 before the first round fixture of the league which Simba lost 1-0 courtesy of an own goal.
Last season, Yanga sealed a double over Simba, winning the first round 5-1 before beating them 2-1 in the reverse fixture. In the previous campaign, after the two sides settled for a 1-1 draw in the first round meeting, Simba recovered to win the second round 2-1.
In the last seven league matches, Simba have only managed to beat Yanga once, while Yanga have registered three wins, with the other three ending in draws.
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