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Zesco suspend Were, Otieno, on discipline grounds


Zesco United has provisionally suspended Kenyan duo Jesse Were and Ian Otieno from the first team on disciplinary grounds.

The duo was missing in action as Timu Ya Ziko suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Kafue United in a league match on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.

“We left the two guys due to discipline issues otherwise they are both fine. Discipline is very key to everyone. I think when we have a backlog of games everyone must be at their best in terms of behavior,” Zesco coach Numba Mumamba confirmed to the club’s official website.

Mumamba, who’s in the coached Zanaco, further said Were and Otieno breached the club’s code of conduct but did not elaborate.

“That’s why we left the other two guys because they were not looking after themselves very well. We decided to leave them out so that we instill discipline in the team,” he said.

The experienced trainer also did not explain for how long the two players will be out of action.

Were, 32, is Zesco’s all-time top goalscorer having scored over a century of goals for the reigning league champions. He has been at the club since 2016.

Otieno joined the Ndola-based club from Red Arrows in 2020 and has since established himself as the first-choice keeper at the club and with the national team. He is among the players called up by new Kenya coach Engin Firat ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Mali in Morocco and Nairobi.

Zesco have had an average start to the league season coupled by an early exit in the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Swaziland’s Royal Leopards.