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Sports

Shikanda: I will not let Gor Mahia be handed the league title on a silver platter


AFC Leopards Chairman Dan Shikanda has vowed to lodge appeal at the Sport Dispute Tribunal (SDT,) if Gor Mahia are to be declared Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions this season.

Shikanda has also taken a swipe at Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa for seeking to endear himself to K’Ogalo fans so as to achieve his political agenda by using unpopular FKF laws to push for the reigning champions to be handed a fourth straight KPL title if the league doesn’t resume due to the coronavirus pandemic.

REMAINING MATCHES

KPL Chief Executive Officer Jack Oguda in a circular to all the clubs last month, specified that the league has been suspended indefinitely. He said its resumption will depend on when the government relaxes the current directive prohibiting social gathering in public places, a measure which was taken to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

This decision was taken with 10 KPL games remaining to the end of this season.

“I will take a case to the Sport Dispute Tribunals if Gor Mahia are handed the trophy in any case the league doesn’t resume. This is not a tournament but a league and if it is not completed then it should be declared null and void,” said Shikanda.

“I have asked the chairmen of more than half of clubs in KPL about this laws being quoted by Mwendwa and all of them said they are not aware of their existence, neither were they informed of them at the beginning of the season,” he explained.

The former Kenyan international said he wouldn’t accept the FKF President to pressurize KPL which runs the league into declaring Gor Mahia champions and unfairly relegating Nzoia, Kisumu All Stars and Chemelil Sugar which occupy 15th, 16th and 17th places on the log.

He dismissed those saying AFC Leopards, who are sixth and 14 points behind Gor Mahia, cannot win the league.

NULL AND VOID

“Teams like Deportivo la Coruna in La Liga used to lead the table but were always overtaken by Barcelona and Real Madrid with two or there matches to go. The top six teams in KPL are all in a pole position to win the league and Gor should coordinated at all,” he added.

Shikanda cited an incident in which a KPL match pitting Leopards and Sony Sugar was stopped due to heavy rains late in the second half and they were later forced to travel back to Awendo to honour the match.

He said KPL should apply the same decision by using a congested fixture to finish the games in four weeks post the coronavirus pandemic, and if this is not possible the season should be declared null and void.

“If some clubs do not have the resources to cope with the congested fixture then they should be removed from the league the way Sony was suspended after failing to honour three matches,” he said.

Apart from AFC Leopards other teams calling for the cancellation of KPL are Western Stima, Kisumu All Stars, Mathare United, Bandari and Sony Sugar.

KPL is expected to hold a stakeholders meeting this week to deliberate on the league after the government extended the night curfew which ends on May 15 while the league was initially scheduled to end on May 24.