Zesco United suspension raise dust

The decision by the Zambian Premier League (ZPL) to suspend Zesco United Football Club has left many stakeholders in local football astonished.
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‎In a letter to Zesco United, the ZPL said the Ndola club has been suspended from the Super League for taking their grievance regarding ABSA Cup disqualification against FC MUZA to the public courts of law.
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‎ZPL chief executive officer Joseph Chimpampwe says football disputes are not supposed to be taken to ordinary courts.
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‎Zesco has taken  legal action in courts following their replacement in the ongoing ABSA Cup competition.
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‎The legal action followed the controversy surrounding Zesco’s reverse fixture with Mutondo Stars that was played in the first half of the season
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‎During the ABSA Cup draws, ZPL announced that, that fixture was counted as a postponed fixture despite Zesco having reached the threshold of count of 17 games at which qualification is determined
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‎Zesco was ordered to play Mutondo and lost the match to the minnows, subsequently losing their ABSA slot to MUZA FC in a controversial style.
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‎But experienced football writer, Mutheliso Phiri says the decision by the ZPL to suspend Zesco is a breach of FAZ Statutes.
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‎”Under the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Constitution (2021), jurisdiction over internal football disputes is expressly vested in FAZ.Article 62 provides that FAZ shall have authority over disputes between its members. This jurisdiction is exercised through established judicial bodies, most notably the Disciplinary Committee (Article 57),” Phiri wrote.
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‎”The Disciplinary Committee is the competent body mandated to hear cases and impose sanctions in accordance with Article 60 (Disciplinary Measures). Any determination of misconduct, and any resulting sanction, must therefore originate from the Disciplinary Committee.While Article 61 (Arbitration) prohibits the submission of football-related disputes to ordinary courts, any alleged breach of that provision does not, in itself, confer sanctioning authority on the ZPL. It is the exclusive preserve of FAZ judicial bodies to determine whether a breach has occurred and, if so, to impose appropriate sanctions.”
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‎Phiri said the ZPL overstepped when sanctioning Zesco.
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‎”The action taken by the ZPL is, in substance, disciplinary. It is a sanction, and as such, falls squarely within the jurisdiction of the FAZ Disciplinary Committee.”
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‎”The correct procedure should have involved the ZPL charging ZESCO United for misconduct and affording the club an opportunity to be heard through the FAZ Disciplinary Committee. The action taken is therefore procedurally flawed as it is not backed by due process,” he remarked.
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‎”It is a decision taken without lawful authority, in breach of the constitutional framework governing football in Zambia, and is therefore ultra vires, null, and void,” Phiri concluded.
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‎Issues of football cases going to the public  courts of law are not new in Zambian football.
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‎Football administrators Damiano Mutale and Elijah Chileshe previously sued the then Andrew Kamanga led FAZ over their controversial suspension from football.
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‎Currently, ZPL chairman Kephas Katongo is still under a court injunction obtained from the same ordinary courts by a ZPL member called Elijah Lungu, owner of a women’s team.
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‎Lungu was disqualified from contesting elections where he wanted to challenge Katongo for the ZPL chairmanship last year.
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‎Lungu has opted for ordinary courts instead of the Court of Arbitration for Sports but he has neither been suspended nor expelled as the statutes demand.
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‎Almost one year on, Katongo has not functioned in his position as ZPL Chairperson because of that injunction obtained from the ordinary courts.

Football authorities are being accused of playing double standards on the Zesco case.