By Peter Sinkamba

HAS FAZ OFFICIALLY PROTESTED AGAINST GOALKEEPER MUSONDA’S FIRST RED CARD? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

Has FAZ officially protested against the first red card that handed down to our goal keeper Catherine Musonda? I have heard nothing from FAZ from yesterday up to now.

If that card was handed against a US, England, France, or Germany player, not only the bench and fans, but also their government leaders would have compelled cancellation of the red card.

It is not fair that goalkeeper Musonda will miss the game against Spain after collecting two yellow cards against Japan. She was not supposed to be sent off for her second professional foul of the game, which led to a penalty and fifth goal.

The question is: why was Musonda’s first yellow card not canceled after the VAR review? Did any official representing Zambia at the games protest that it be cancelled? If not, what then is their role as Zambia’s official representatives at the world cup? Just collecting allowances or what?

The official protes is justlied according to IFAB’s Laws of the Game regarding such incidents.

IFAB Laws state as follows:

“If play continues after an incident which is then reviewed, any disciplinary action taken/required during the post-incident period is not cancelled, even if the original decision is changed (except a caution/sending-off for stopping or interfering with a promising attack or denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity).”

In short, if a player commits an offense after the offside, the punishment he or she gets will stand even if other events that followed are revoked.

However, as you will note from the above citation? there is an exception to this rule: a player can only be forgiven if he or she commits a foul to stop an obvious scoring opportunity.

Did Musonda commit a foul to stop an obvious scoring opportunity by a Japanese striker?

The answer is YES! Musonda qualified for the exception to the rule because she “attempted to stop an obvious goalscoring opportunity” by a Japanese striker.

Ba FAZ you have three days before the next game for Zambia. Do something or otherwise come back. You were sent to Australia and New Zealand to represent Zambia’s interest!

Ba Minister Hon Elvis Nkandu, please take interest in this serious issue. If FAZ cant do it on their own, them direct them to do so… an official protest for the cancellation of the first red card is inevitable. It will be unfair that our first choice goalkeeper is denied play in the