By Vicent Kakooza,
Defending league champions Vipers SC on Tuesday evening, minutes before kickoff of their league game against table leaders KCCA FC at Buikwe secured an interim relief from the FUFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC) for their four players that were suspended for two games.
Earlier FUFA had communicated to Vipers in a letter on 21/09/2015 asserting that four of Vipers SC players i.e. Ismail Watenga, Deus Bukenya, Alitho James and Keziron Kizito contravened FUFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players article 37(1) and 39(3) for failing to turn up for the Cranes Tour and as such were ineligible for the next two league games i.e. M#35 and M#46 against KCCA FC and SC Villa respectively.
This came at a time when the final 18 man squad for the match had been named and the entire team in a residential camp at Buikwe ahead of Tuesday (today) league game against KCCA FC.
Vipers then petitioned the FDC seeking Interim suspension of the decision of FUFA until this case is disposed of on grounds that the suspension of the said players at that critical time and on such short notice is not sporting and an opportunity for the accused players to defend themselves was overlooked among others.
Following the urgency of the matter, the FDC convened at FUFA House Tuesday afternoon TO consider Vipers’ submission. In their decision communicated to the FUFA CEO,
“We hereby grant an interim relief lifting the provisional withdraw/any withdraw of any kind of the following players’ licences pending the full hearing by the disciplinary committee and disposal of the same”. Reads part of the DC ruling.
The ruling enabled goal keepers Alitho James and Ismail Watenga as well as midfielders Deus Bukenya and Keziron Kizito to feature in today’s game with KCCA FC that ended in a 2-2 draw.
The hearing of the case has been scheduled for Tuesday next week.
FUFA vice president Justus Mugisha confirmed the development on Wednesday during a weekly press briefing held at FUFA headquarters in Kampala.’’ Vipers has a right to report its grievances to the Fufa Disciplinary Committee like anybody else, they did and they were given a provisional permission to use the players’’.
