Golden Bees to appeal Haimbodi’s suspension

GOLDEN Bees chairman Zandry Haimbodi yesterday said they would appeal against a decision by the Namibia Premier League to suspend midfielder Harold Haimbodi for one football season.

Haimbodi, who also plays for the national team, is expected to sit in the stands for the whole of next season after the NPL found him guilty of assaulting a referee during a league match last month. Haimbodi was also fined N$1 000 for punching referee Andreas Frans in their match against Ramblers at the Ramblers Stadium.The match was stopped in the first 20 minutes of the first half.Zandry Haimbodi yesterday confirmed to The Namibian Sport that his club intended to appeal the suspension on the grounds that it was too harsh and would affect their team’s performance in the league.”We will appeal and ask for a lenient sentence.The player is important to the team.They could at least let him sit out only for the first round of the season, and not the entire season.Maybe he can do some community service by being involved in some youth development programme of the association to reduce the period of suspension,” he said.The club has 14 days to appeal in writing and will be required to pay a fee of N$1 000.In a statement on Monday, the NPL announced that Haimbodi had been suspended from all football activities conducted under the auspices of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), for the period of one season with immediate effect.The decision was taken by the Disciplinary Committee of the NPL on June 4.Golden Bees coach Immanuel Tjipura, who had also been accused of involvement, was found not guilty.Meanwhile, the NPL has resolved that the match will be replayed at the Ramblers Stadium on June 11 at 15h00.Golden Bees, who ended 11th out of 16 teams on the NPL log, face relegation/promotion playoffs later this month.The matches will determine whether they will stick around in the premiership next season or whether they will join the first-division ranks.Haimbodi was also fined N$1 000 for punching referee Andreas Frans in their match against Ramblers at the Ramblers Stadium.The match was stopped in the first 20 minutes of the first half.Zandry Haimbodi yesterday confirmed to The Namibian Sport that his club intended to appeal the suspension on the grounds that it was too harsh and would affect their team’s performance in the league.”We will appeal and ask for a lenient sentence.The player is important to the team.They could at least let him sit out only for the first round of the season, and not the entire season.Maybe he can do some community service by being involved in some youth development programme of the association to reduce the period of suspension,” he said.The club has 14 days to appeal in writing and will be required to pay a fee of N$1 000.In a statement on Monday, the NPL announced that Haimbodi had been suspended from all football activities conducted under the auspices of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), for the period of one season with immediate effect.The decision was taken by the Disciplinary Committee of the NPL on June 4.Golden Bees coach Immanuel Tjipura, who had also been accused of involvement, was found not guilty.Meanwhile, the NPL has resolved that the match will be replayed at the Ramblers Stadium on June 11 at 15h00.Golden Bees, who ended 11th out of 16 teams on the NPL log, face relegation/promotion playoffs later this month.The matches will determine whether they will stick around in the premiership next season or whether they will join the first-division ranks.