Rayon Sports assistant coach stands by suspended Masudi

Rayon Sports assistant coach Maurice ‘Maso’ Nshimiyimana has refuted claims by club officials that head coach Djuma Masudi has been taking unilateral decisions, one of the reasons cited for his suspension. Masudi was shockingly handed a one-week suspension by the league leaders on Monday two days after they were knocked out of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup by Nigeria’s Rivers United. The defeat ended their hopes of reaching the group stage of the continent’s second biggest club competition. The club secretary general told Times Sport on Tuesday that Masudi was suspended due to “unprofessional conduct” despite the fact that he is four wins away from leading the Blues to their eighth league title and the first since 2013. According to Gakwaya, the decision was carefully taken based on several cases, which he says probably contributed to their exit from the Confederation Cup. The accusations include failure to attend club meetings without any explanation, failure to work smoothly with the coaching staff, and making unilateral decisions. However, speaking after taking charge of the Peace Cup return leg against second division Rugende FC on Tuesday, Nshimiyimana denied that Masudi takes unilateral decisions, disclosing that his working relationship with the staff has been “amicable.” “His suspension came as a big shock to us. I have been working with him very well. I have to admit that there has been not a single problem between me and him,” Maso said after Rayon won the second leg 3-0 to advance to the last 16 on a 12-0 aggregate score, after a 9-0 win in the first leg last week. He added that, “ I don’t know what others think, but on my side, it has been a great relationship between me and him and we did everything in the best interest of the club.” Rayon Sports crashed out of the Confederation Cup on Saturday after failing to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg with the second leg ending in a goalless draw. It means the Blues missed out on a minimum of $275,000 meant for the team that finishes at the bottom of the group stage. Efforts to reach Masudi who is expected to return to work next Monday were fruitless as he did not answer our repeated calls. Rayon Sports have been outstanding in the league this season losing only one game in the last 22 and lead the table with 55 points, five ahead of archrivals and reigning champions APR FC and with two games in hand. editorial@newtimes.co.rw