Silver Strikers irked by having their stadium labeled as a war zone

With emotions high prior to the last FDH Bank Cup quarterfinal encounter between hosts Silver Strikers and Nyasa Big Bullets, some Bullets fans were involved in altercations with alleged Silver fans that led to some of the supporters badly assaulted.

This led the media to condemn the violence while the country’s giant media house, The Daily Times carried a story entitled ‘War zone at Silver Stadium.” — published on Friday, August 20.

But this headline has irked the Bankers, who have responded by issuing a public statement condemning being labeled as such — saying the altercation happened away from their stadium but at entertainment hub of Bwandilo in Lilongwe which happens to be just a stone throw away.

Silver say they are “saddened by this misleading report” adding that they “strongly feel this kind of negative football is retrogressive to the advancement of the game in the Warm Heart of Africa”.

The Bankers goes further to say they are suspicious of the motive of the newspaper article in creating such a headline adding that “the declaration of Silver Stadium as a war zone is not only insensitive but also disturbingly barbaric and brutal”.

“It should be made unequivocally clear that Silver Strikers FC is responsible for event happening within the club’s premises and not the sorrounding community. Therefore, our proximity to Bwandilo, which is an entertainment area, does not qualify us to be related to ugly scenes happening there on any day including a match day.

“Silver Strikers FC has always been synonymous with peace; we win with pride and lose with dignity. This has been our tradition and culture for we strictly respect the dictates of the game in promoting the value of Fair Play.

During the FDH Bank Cup quarterfinal, Silver won 4-2 on post match penalties after 2-2 stalemate in regulation. The visitors scored first through Hassan Kajoke in the 4th minute before the Bankers’ Stain Davie equalized in the 35th.

The Bullets then led again in the 49th through Zicco Mkanda but Davie was on target again in the 65th — taking the match in post match penalties, in which the visitors missed two from four kicks while the Bankers missed once to carry the day at 4-2.

In the statement, Silver say “such unfair and irresponsible reporting is strongly deplorable” because the newspaper article “missed the truth of the incident in question”.

“We are disturbed why reported scenes of physical assaults occurring outside our stadium would be attributed to Silver Strikers FC, rendering our precincts a war zone.”

The club further said they are “a law abiding football entity and always adheres to laws, rules and regulations of the game”, adding that “even at the slightest provocation, Silver Strikers FC advices its supporters to respect football’s laws and regulatory dictates as well as laws of the land”.

“We pray that the press exercises their obligation and duty to inform the football or sports public the truth and not champion biased or negative reporting which may unfortunately affect sports sponsorship in the country and make people lose interest in the football game.”

“The Bankers sign off by saying they decided to respond to clarify the events that happened and implore on the media “to exercise professionalism, responsibility and integrity so as not to bring unnecessary chaos to the local game”.

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