Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala: Without intimidating fans, AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia are nothing

Bandari FC head coach Bernard Mwalala says AFC Leopards cannot beat any team without the help of the referees, who are intimidated by the fans.

The Dockers suffered a 2-1 loss against the 13-time Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos in a league outing on Sunday.

In an interview with Capital Sports, the former international said that he believes the match referee contributed to his side's defeat.

“When playing Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, the fans always try to intimidate the referees and this affects them because they lack a stand when making decisions. It has worked against us in favour of Gor Mahia last week and now AFC Leopards,” Mwalala is quoted by Capital Sports.

“Against Gor Mahia we had a clear penalty which was denied. Again in the AFC match, there were questionable decisions called by the referee because of the intimidation from the fans who started throwing stones.”

Mwalala added that AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia are made ‘big’ by the fans, otherwise, they are just like any other team.

“Without intimidation, it will be hard for AFC Leopards to beat anyone in this league. The fans help these two teams get results by intimidating referees," he continued.

"Without fans, AFC and Gor are ordinary teams. They are using dirty tricks to get point.”

After starting the season well, the Coastal-based side dropped points along the way and are currently third on the KPL table with 45 points, 13 less than leaders Gor Mahia.