NPL vows to be tough on undisciplined players and officials

THE Namibia Premier League (NPL) yesterday warned that undisciplined players could face suspensions from playing, while teams could also be fined for disrupting the game.

The past weekend saw incidents in which a player, team officials and a spectator were involved in undisciplined behaviour, a situation the NPL said it could not condone. A fan from Orlando Pirates wanted to attack a player from Golden Bees who was sent off in their match at the SKW Stadium on Saturday.The fan, who is popularly known as “Spyker”, was on the brink of attacking a player from Golden Bees just shortly before half time, but the situation was brought under control by security personnel who were at hand.The fourth official at the match, Matthew Katjimune, told The Namibian Sport yesterday that a report had been compiled and had been forwarded to the NPL.Orlando Pirates, the home team, could be fined up to N$2 000 for the incident.Pirates already led 4-0 at half-time and eventually won the match 7-1.Another incident happened during a match between Ramblers and Blue Waters at the Ramblers Stadium on Sunday.Blue Waters winger Paulus Shipanga swore at the officials of Ramblers who were on the bench and he allegedly also spat at the assistant coach of Ramblers, Tollie van Wyk, after the match.Van Wyk confirmed that Shipanga used had vulgar language and spat at him while Blue Waters official Sparks Gotlieb also bombarded the assistant referee, Hans Danster, with abusive language.The short-tempered Shipanga, who is a former Brave Warriors player, previously also spat at referee Boy-Boy Ndjadila, but got away with it unpunished.NPL League Administrator Tovey Hoebeb said that, if found guilty by the Disciplinary Committee, Shipanga could face a fine of at least N$1 000 for abusive language, apart from a one-match suspension.The NPL’s DC is chaired by Gibson Haimbili with other members being Bobby Sising, Theu Amathila and John Madiba.Meanwhile, Katjimune, regarded as one of the most consistent referees in the country, expressed disappointment with the handling of cases by the DC, which he says come to nothing.”We submit reports on some of these cases for the DC to take decisions, but most of these players get away without any punishment,” he charged.So far, the NPL DC in one of its strongest decisions, has suspended former XI Arrows player Norman Blake for two years.There were no similar suspensions despite referees being attacked, while teams also failed to control both their players and fans.Hoebeb complained that referees do not furnish detailed information resulting in the DC struggling to make decisions.”They just indicate that a player got a red card, but no explanation is given why.This does not give the DC a clear idea on what specific steps to take,” he said.He claimed that they frequently requested the officials to submit detailed reports on decisions they took in regard to serious cases.A fan from Orlando Pirates wanted to attack a player from Golden Bees who was sent off in their match at the SKW Stadium on Saturday.The fan, who is popularly known as “Spyker”, was on the brink of attacking a player from Golden Bees just shortly before half time, but the situation was brought under control by security personnel who were at hand.The fourth official at the match, Matthew Katjimune, told The Namibian Sport yesterday that a report had been compiled and had been forwarded to the NPL.Orlando Pirates, the home team, could be fined up to N$2 000 for the incident.Pirates already led 4-0 at half-time and eventually won the match 7-1.Another incident happened during a match between Ramblers and Blue Waters at the Ramblers Stadium on Sunday.Blue Waters winger Paulus Shipanga swore at the officials of Ramblers who were on the bench and he allegedly also spat at the assistant coach of Ramblers, Tollie van Wyk, after the match.Van Wyk confirmed that Shipanga used had vulgar language and spat at him while Blue Waters official Sparks Gotlieb also bombarded the assistant referee, Hans Danster, with abusive language.The short-tempered Shipanga, who is a former Brave Warriors player, previously also spat at referee Boy-Boy Ndjadila, but got away with it unpunished.NPL League Administrator Tovey Hoebeb said that, if found guilty by the Disciplinary Committee, Shipanga could face a fine of at least N$1 000 for abusive language, apart from a one-match suspension.The NPL’s DC is chaired by Gibson Haimbili with other members being Bobby Sising, Theu Amathila and John Madiba.Meanwhile, Katjimune, regarded as one of the most consistent referees in the country, expressed disappointment with the handling of cases by the DC, which he says come to nothing.”We submit reports on some of these cases for the DC to take decisions, but most of these players get away without any punishment,” he charged.So far, the NPL DC in one of its strongest decisions, has suspended former XI Arrows player Norman Blake for two years.There were no similar suspensions despite referees being attacked, while teams also failed to control both their players and fans.Hoebeb complained that referees do not furnish detailed information resulting in the DC struggling to make decisions.”They just indicate that a player got a red card, but no explanation is given why.This does not give the DC a clear idea on what specific steps to take,” he said.He claimed that they frequently requested the officials to submit detailed reports on decisions they took in regard to serious cases.