Referee Thabani Ruzario —arguably one of the best in Zimbabwe, was assigned with the task of officiating yesterday’s highly anticipated clash between old foes Dynamos and Highlanders at Rufaro.
For a fixture which is the biggest in Zimbabwe historically, as evidenced by the hostility between fans of the two giants over the years as well as the the tribal discords which usually manifest in the match, it was fitting that the Chitungwiza bred official be tasked with handling it.
The lanky official, who turned 37 just four days ago, is on the FIFA panel of referees and even officiated at the Total Energies U-20 tournament in Egypt last year.
At the height of the tense rivalry between then Premiership debutants MWOS and Scottland last year, Ruzario was assigned with handling their first meeting at Ngoni Stadium and handled it brilliantly, before he was unfortunately stretched off due to an ankle injury.
He is a no-nonsense official who is usually in full control of the game, a strength he might have developed from being a former footballer, as he also played Premiership football at Chicken Inn between 2010 and 2011.
But with all his decorated experience, Ruzario made a mess of the ‘Battle of Zimbabwe’ towards its end yesterday, a setback which can result in a suspension, or possibly his removal from the FIFA panel.
An off the ball incident involving Highlanders starlet Mongameli Tshuma and Dynamos defender Collin Mujuru, saw the former hitting the latter, who went down forthwith.
Television cameras noticed it, but more importantly, so did the fourth official Grace Gimo, who consulted Ruzario over it.
A conversation between the two officials ensued and Ruzario took out the red card, with all indications pointing to the dismissal of Tshuma.
But for reasons best known to him, Ruzario changed his mind at the eleventh hour, returned the red card to his pocket without flashing it to anyone —to the shock those in attendance at Rufaro.
As if that was not enough, the commotion over the Tshuma-Mujuru incident had resulted in the lapsing of the three additional minutes signaled by the fourth official, but Ruzario blew his whistle to end the game thereafter.
Whether or not Ruzario did not send off Tshuma because he feared the possibility of crowd trouble is a debate which might go on until the cows come home but what’s not up for debate is the fact that he failed to manage the game towards its end —something which might dent his curriculum vitae.
