Kimanzi blasts Cecafa for slapping him with two-match touchline suspension
Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi has blasted Cecafa’s management in the wake of Monday’s decision to slap him with a two-match touchline suspension at the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup which is ongoing in Kampala.
The coach also distanced himself from claims he chased the fourth official from Kenya’s dressing room, vandalized the KCCA Stadium dressing room door and ordered his players not to take to the pitch during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Tanzania.
“They (Cecafa) should get serious. Imagine the Tanzanians did not have passports and yet the organizers allowed them to play. Can such a thing happen at the Africa Cup of Nations?” said Kimanzi.
The passport is a standard identification document for all players and coaches competing in an international football match.
That said, Kimanzi denied blocking his players from entering the pitch.
Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye claimed the former Tusker and Mathare coach locked his players in the dressing room and delayed kick-off of the game against the Kilimanjaro Stars by about 10 minutes.
“I did not stop my players from playing. I’m just a coach. How can a coach stop a whole nation from playing?” Kimanzi said.
Meanwhile, Kimanzi has said his players will not miss him when he sits out the matches against Sudan and Zanzibar in Kampala on Tuesday and Saturday respectively.
“The players will win against Sudan without me (on Tuesday). They will even play better,” he said.
Kimanzi assistant Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno will take charge of the team in these two matches.