Bamboutos Relegated, Molyko Stadium Suspended

By Innocent Mbunwe

The Homologation Committee of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, Friday, September 21, relegated Bamboutos Football Club of Mbouda to Division II.

The Committee also suspended the Buea Omnisport Stadium from one match.According to the centre referee, Alioum Siddi, money changed hands between players and officials of Bamboutos and Federal of Noun were playing on September 15.

In the encounter, after 25 minutes into the second half, while Bamboutous was leading by 2-1, Federal equalised to make it 2-2 and was threatening to take the lead.But Bamboutos coach, Anaba, called Federal of Noun's captain, Nkoun a Rim, in front of about ten thousand spectators crowd and gave him an envelope.

Shortly afterwards, according to reports from match officials, Bamboutos captain, Koss Roger, faked an injury.While the team doctor, Barthelemy Tchio, was attending to Koss, Nkoun a Rim passed over the envelope to an outsider and this facilitated Bamboutos scoring its third and apparently decisive goal.

Afterwards, match officials reported the incident to FECAFOOT and at the Homologation Committee meeting on Friday, September 21, relegated Bamboutos to Division II and banned some players and officials.

Bamboutos coach and the team doctor have both been banned for three years, while Bamboutos captain and his Federal counterpart have been banned for two years each.
The appeal against the decision was to be heard as we went to press on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Homologation Committee also suspended the Buea Omnisport Stadium for one match after the day 30 encounter between Mt. Cameroon FC and Fovu of Baham.According to the report submitted by match officials, Mt. Cameroon supporters attacked the referee at the end of the game and it was only the Buea Mobil Intervention Unit, GMI, that threw tear at the supporters to rescue the battered referee. 

Mt. Cameroon supporters were reportedly bitter with the referee for what they termed bias handling of the encounter. According to Henry Khama, a die-hard Mt. Cameroon supporter, "the referee acted as if he had been bought.

Can you imagine the referee refusing two glaring penalties, one in the first segment of the game and another at the 87th minute? It is like he was bribed by Canon officials to stop Mt. Cameroon at the third spot."