The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Appeals Committee has confirmed Mara Sugar's progression to the Round of 16 in the FKF Cup after upholding an earlier decision by the governing body's Leagues and Competitions Committee to disqualify AFC Leopards from the showpiece.
The match was abandoned in the 89th minute after crowd unrest erupted when a penalty decision in favour of AFC Leopards was reversed.
The incident occurred at Mambo Leo Stadium in Kisumu, with the score tied at 0-0 prior to the abandonment.
The FKF Appeals Committee said it had upheld the decision of the Leagues and Competitions Committee (LCC) regarding the abandoned clash, confirming Mara Sugar’s progression to the Round of 16.
The Leagues and Competitions Committee determined that AFC Leopards' fans were responsible for the unrest and ruled in favour of Mara Sugar.
AFC Leopards later challenged the decision to disqualify them from the tournament. According to FKF regulations, a club must forfeit matches abandoned due to misconduct by its supporters, which was applied in this case.
"Following a review, the LCC ruled that AFC Leopards fans were responsible for the abandonment and, in line with Article 6.4(IV) of the Mozzart Bet Cup Regulations and Article 3.5.6 of the FKF Rules and Regulations governing football in Kenya, awarded the match to Mara Sugar," the federation said.
"The FKF regulations provide that a club will forfeit any match which was abandoned because of the misconduct of their members or supporters.”
This provision is designed to promote safety at match venues by ensuring clubs take responsibility for the conduct of their fans at matches. This is a second ruling made by the federation following an earlier one delivered last month.
The ruling stated, “AFC Leopards SC fans were found responsible for the abandonment of the match due to unlawfully invading the pitch. In line with Article 6.4(iv) of the FKF Cup regulations and Article 3.5.6 of the FKF Rules & Regulations, AFC Leopards will forfeit the match, and Mara Sugar FC will be awarded the victory, progressing to the next round of the competition. AFC Leopards SC have been issued a warning concerning the misconduct of their supporters and are advised to implement measures to prevent future incidents of hooliganism.”
The AFC Leopards challenged the decision, claiming that the committee had made a mistake in its assessment. They filed an appeal with the federation's appeals body because they were unhappy with the result. The appeals body upheld the Leagues and Competitions Committee's decision following weeks of deliberation.Mara Sugar FC will now play Compel FC in the Cup's Round of 16 on May 21 in Kisumu. The victor of the match will then play Kenya Police FC in the Cup quarterfinals.
