Danny “Deco” Phiri
Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
CHICKEN Inn and national team star midfielder Danny “Deco” Phiri on Wednesday became the first high-profile player to be automatically ruled out of contention for the Soccer Star of the Year award. He picked up his sixth yellow card of the season 15 minutes into the top drawer clash against FC Platinum which makes him ineligible for the top award.
The match ended in a 1-1 stalemate, but Bulawayo referee Philani Ncube had already condemned the gritty midfielder to ineligibility for selection as one of the country’s top soccer players for 2015.
The six yellow cards’ criterion, which has been described as draconian by some football fans and the media alike, stipulates that any player that picks up six cautions by the time panellists sit to cast their votes is automatically disqualified.
The same applies to a player that accumulates two or more red cards up to the selection time, while any player that is found guilty by the Premier Soccer League disciplinary committee or the courts of law during the season is also ineligible.
“He put his body on the line in defence of the team and sadly earned a yellow card, which will now see him out of consideration. It’s sad but what can we do; those are the rules,” said Chicken Inn gaffer Joe Antipas.
The rule has, however, been roundly condemned as retrogressive, especially for a contact sport like football.
With referees’ performances sometimes pathetic, critics could be justified in calling for its abolishment.
Phiri’s teammate and Premiership debutant Edmore Chirambadare sits on five yellow cards with 360 minutes of football still to be played and the fear of missing out could also affect his performance in the Gamecocks’ last four games of the season.
In 2013, versatile Highlanders’ left-back Bruce Kangwa, who had a brilliant season, also suffered the same fate at a time his performances probably put him among the country’s top three players.
It was also the same year that the PSL and sponsors introduced a criterion for selecting the Goalkeeper of the Year.
The criterion, adopted from Spain and known as Zemura Award, saw Herbert Rusawo of Black Rhinos winning the top award. However, widespread criticism saw the organisers abandoning the system.
Dynamos’ skipper Stephen Alimenda is also out of contention after he was found guilty of sexist and verbal abuse of Tsholotsho’s female medic Sibusisiwe Mtunzi by the PSL disciplinary committee during a league match at Rufaro Stadium.
Alimenda will be one of the panellists in his capacity as DeMbare captain. The voting panel consists of the 16 Premiership coaches and their captains as well as a selected group of sport media practitioners.