Rwanda head coach Carlos Alos Ferrer claims Botswana referee Joshua Bondo did no good for Amavubi in relation to the Kevin Muhire incident that resulted in a subsequent forfeit against his team. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded three points and three goals to the Cheetahs of Benin last week after the country’s FA won an appeal to CAF arguing that Muhire was ineligible to play the qualifier in Kigali. CAF ruled that Benin’s appeal was valid because the Kuwait-based midfielder was not supposed to play the game in Kigali, during which Amavubi were held by Benin to a 1-1 draw, having accumulated two yellow cards against Senegal and Benin in the first leg. ALSO READ: Amavubi forfeit: Who should take the blame? The forfeit against Rwanda saw Benin climb to the third place of Group L level with second-placed Mozambique on four points in four matches while Rwanda dropped to bottom of the table with two points, putting Amavubi’s race for a ticket to the 2023 AFCON finals in jeopardy. Senegal remains at the top of the table with 12 maximum points out of a possible 12 after winning all their four qualifiers which were enough to qualify for the 2023 AFCON finals that will take place in Cote d’Ivoire in January next year. While Rwanda FA dismissed Amavubi Team Manager Jackson Rutayisire for failure to rightfully record Muhire’s two bookings and communicate his suspension before he was ineligibly introduced to play the Benin return leg in Kigali, Ferrer insists referee Bondo should have taken responsibility of the incident he caused the time he recklessly failed to report the midfielder’s yellow card in Benin. I’m so angry about the Benin situation. The biggest mistake was from the referee, he didn’t record Muhire’s card and CAF did not inform us about the suspension, Ferrer told Times Sport. A referee report of the first leg game during which Amavubi held Benin to a 1-1 draw at the Mathieu Kerekou Sports Stadium sighted by Times Sport confirmed what Ferrer said as Bondo hand only yellow card for striker Gilbert Mugisha and Hakim Sahabo's red card recorded in his report. After the game, I asked for the report of the referee and Team Manager Jackson Rutayisire sent me this document which had only Gilbert Mugisha and Hakim Sahabo as the players booked. For sure, during the game I cannot control the referee's job. The Spanish tactician is, however, confident that though it is tough, all is not beyond reach as the Amavubi can still make it to the 2023 AFCON in Cote D'Ivoire. Now, our situation is more difficult, but still we have chances to qualify, he added. Rwanda could move to second place with a win over Mozambique in Kigali over Mozambique in June if Senegal also defeat Benin in Cotonou.
