Gor Mahia FC has been hit with a two year suspension from all Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) competitions following the players' decision to reject bronze medals at this year's Kagame Cup in Tanzania.
The announcement was made by CECAFA Secretary General Nicholas Musonye at a press briefing held in a Dar hotel on Saturday.
Gor Mahia players, after beating Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU) in the third place play-off to secure a cash prize of Sh1 Million, refused to go on the dais to receive the medals.
Organizers were forced to call to the stage the runners up, Simba SC after guests and officials including Tanzania's Minister of Sports and Speaker of National Assembly awaited Gor for over five minutes.
The team had also rejected the dressing rooms allocated to them on allegations of witchcraft.
[caption caption="Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier with Head Coach Dylan Kerr (Courtesy)"]
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Musonye also hit out at Gor coach Dylan Kerr whom he accused of using offensive language towards match officials.
“We lined up according to our customs as Cecafa for medal presentations and we had our guests but Gor Mahia failed to come to the podium. That aside, they came here and declined the hotel, refused to use the dressing room and yesterday failed to adhere to our customs
“Further, the Cecafa executive committee has warned Gor Mahia coach (Dylan Kerr) for his offensive language towards match officials. We’ve informed FKF (Football Kenya Federation) to take action against the coach but for us, he will not misbehave in our tournaments for the next two years,” Musonye stated.
In addition, it was announced that Gor had forfeited the Sh1 Million prize money as a result of their actions.
Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier was unavailable for comment when contacted by Kenyans.co.ke as we sought to establish whether the club plans to appeal the decision.
[caption caption="CECAFA Secretary-General Nicholas Musonye"]
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