NAIROBI, Kenya, July 9 – Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has appealed to CAF to rescind the two-match touchline ban on Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche’s following his confrontation with match officials during the return leg of their 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Comoros in May.
Confirming the development to Capital Sport, FKF CEO Michael Esakwa, said the continental football governing body’s disciplinary committee will rule the verdict on July 17, three days before Stars play Lesotho in their first round of the qualifiers in Maseru.
“Yes he has been banned for two matches by CAF but we have appealed and the disciplinary committee is going to sit on 17th to rule the verdict. We have filed a strong appeal since we have even forwarded the Video copy of the match which was showing there were no such incidences that he is accused of.
“Personally I was there and we believe the punishment was quite hash since the coach restrained himself and was within his technical area, its normal for coaches to react when referees makes a call and that’s what Amrouche did but we are optimistic the ban will be lifted,” Esakwa told.
The ban if enforced will see Stars face Lesotho in both legs without the Belgian on the touchline as they start away in Maseru for the first leg next weekend, before the return leg a fortnight later in Nakuru.
This is the second ban for Amrouche since joining Stars after CAF slapped him with a single match ban last year for a similar altercation with a match official during the World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria in Calabar.
Stars reported to camp on Tuesday for their preparation as they seek to make their come back at the continental showdown after a decade.
A win over the two legs will guarantee Amouche charges a slot in the final qualifiers in Group C that include 2013 Afcon finalists Burkina Faso, Angola and Gabon.
Meanwhile, Stars will once again be flown by a chartered flight to Lesotho for their first leg after FKF sealed a one year deal with carrier Fly540 that will be providing 15 complimentary return tickets whenever the team is on national duty.
According to airline operations director, Nixon Ooko, they will provide a special plane that will cost over Sh10m (USD 113,960) since they don’t have direct flights on the Lesotho route.
“Harambee Stars needs a lot of support to grow and we are going to see them through to play their continental matches for the entire season.
“In addition we are going to present a token cheque of Sh4.5 m for our contribution to the team’s kitty for the expenditure of the entire season,” Ooko stated.
Federation president Sam Nyamweya said the sponsorship has come at the right time when they are on the verge of renewing their partnership with title sponsors Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL).
“The Government needs to invest on the national team, let them support the team on a bigger way since we need a serious budget for the national teams, KBL will be renewing their sponsorship very soon so the challenge is for the players and technical bench to do the country proud,” Nyamweya stated.
The airline transported the team to Comoros last month for their preliminary Africa Cup of Nations return leg qualifier.
