APR chairman Lt Gen Mubarakh Muganga has begged Rayon Sorts not to sack their head coach Francis Harigingo just like they did to his predecessors when they lost to the military side.

The Blues suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to APR on Saturday, December 17, at Kigali stadium, a result that could decide his fate on the club’s hot seat. Yannick Bizimana’s lone goal against his former club on Saturday at Kigali Stadium was enough to win the derby for the military side.

It is a result that saw the Blues lose their top spot to AS Kigali to drop to second and Haringingo could be made to pay for it, with the club supporters already losing his confidence.

The derby most of the time decides the future of a coach at Rayon Sports and a number of club coaches were sacked just days after losing the derby against APR.

Since 2019, the likes of Spanish Javier Martinez Espinoza (2018/19), Congolese Guy Bukasa (2020/21), Burundian Djuma (2020/21) Masudi and Brazilian Jorge Paixao (2021/22) were all sacked a day after losing the derby and Haringingo could follow them should the club management show no patience in him.

However, Muganga doesn’t think that a coach’s performance should be assessed based on one game and urged sacking Rayon not to sack the Burundian because he lost the derby.

"Please be patient and don’t sack him,” Muganga said.

"In a match, there are three results where you either win, draw or lose. So, as the management, we should take it that way because this is what football and sports in general are about,” he added.

Pressure now mounts on Haringingo and all eyes will be on the tactician when his men return to action for a must-win clash against in-form Gasogi United on December 23, at Kigali Stadium.