AS Muhanga head coach Abdu Mbarushimana has strongly criticized violent conduct of La Jeunesse players who assaulted referees after the club's 1-0 Second Division League loss to his side on Friday, March 3, at Muhanga stadium.
The tactician made the comments following the arrest of two La Jeunesse players who were allegedly involved in violent assault on referee Toni Karemera accusing him of controversially ruling out the visitors’ goal for offside.
The duo is currently detained at Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) Nyamabuye station in Muhanga District on ‘charges of assault’ according to Police Spokesperson in Southern Province, Emmanuel Habiyaremye.
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Mbarushimana, who was watching from the touchline when the incident unfolded, described what La Jeunesse did at Muhanga Stadium after the full time whistle as ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ which he said continues to grow in Rwandan football.
The tactician said that such incidents need special attention to ensure the protection of referees and other people involved.
"It's just that everyone wants to win, if one fails to win, people tend to start looking at someone to blame for that result. It requires good management to prevent such scenes like that,” Mbarushimana told Times Sport.
"That is not something that we should be seeing in today’s football. We, coaches, and club administrations, should talk to our players and prepare them even more mentally,” he added.
Mbarushimana called all football stakeholders to join hands to uproot such ‘bad habits’ which continue to rise in Rwandan football.
"I would like to call Ferwafa, the Ministry of Sports and everyone else involved to take some serious measures against everyone who gets involved in these shameful activities. This should be done as soon as possible because things are going from bad to worse,” suggested the former Musanze boss.
On Friday, March 4, the Rwanda National Police confirmed that the two suspects for referee assault have been arrested.
Muhanga and La Jeunesse are fighting for a place in the second division playoffs as they push to return to the top flight league next season.
Prior to their clash on Friday, March 3, the pair was tied on 23 points from 14 games but La Jeunesse were ahead of AS Muhanga on goal difference.
Friday’s victory saw AS Muhanga climb to third with 26 points in 15 matches while La Jeunesse remained fourth on the table after risks Ivoire Olympique on Sunday failed to beat ASPOR as the match ended in a barren draw.