Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay.

Coach Hassan Oktay: Someone is trying to bring down Gor Mahia

Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay believes there is an alleged plot by ‘football chiefs’ in the country to deduct the team points in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

The Cypriot says that the team’s last two matches – against Kakamega Homeboyz and Ulinzi Stars – were allegedly marred by poor officiating and he is wondering who is behind the alleged scheme.

“It is very disgusting, to say the least, that someone somewhere is working very hard to bring down Gor Mahia. Against Homeboyz, the referee played an extra six minutes from nowhere and that gifted the side with the equalizer,” Oktay told Goal in an exclusive interview.

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“And against Ulinzi Stars today (Sunday), we were denied two clear penalties, one, when Francis Kahata was pulled by the shirt inside the box, and the second, when a fierce strike from Dennis Oliech was blocked by the hands of a player from Ulinzi Stars, but nothing was given.

“But the same referee was very comfortable to award Ulinzi Stars a penalty that was not a penalty. There was no contact from Geoffrey Ochieng and if there was, the tackle happened outside the box. So who are the referees working for, who is paying them to commit such silly mistakes?”

Oktay added that the match commissioner of the match against Ulinzi Stars later apologized to him, saying that it was not a penalty.

“The official came to me at the final whistle and said that was not a penalty. He apologized to me and the club but remember the damage was already done. We had already dropped two points just because of a dubious penalty.

“I now know what they want, they are looking to provoke our fans and when they react by causing chaos, then they will abandon the match and blame Gor Mahia for the skirmishes. Thereafter, they will move to deduct us the points from a boardroom decision.”

Oktay says he will always accept and congratulate an opponent if he loses a match fairly and that he is not using the excuse of poor officiating to defend the team’s recent results.

“When I lost against RS Berkane, I congratulated their coach because we lost fairly but I cannot be happy to clap at a team that won because of the assistance from the match officials, no…I am very disgusted with what is going on and this could have a very bad impact on Kenyan football.

“People are following Kenyan football from as far as Cuba and with such decisions by the referees, it will bring a bad name out there. Something needs to be done urgently.”

The draw against Ulinzi Stars ensured that Gor Mahia remained second on the 18-team table with 46 points, two less than leaders Sofapaka.

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