FAZ has suspended referee Joseph Kalunga for the rest of the season after poor performance in the Atletico Lusaka against over the weekend.
Below is a statement…
FAZ SUSPENDS REFEREE JOSEPH KALUNGA IN THE AFTERMATH OF ATLETICO, MUZA POOR MATCH OFFICIATING
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has suspended Referee Joseph Kalunga for the rest of the season following his performance during the Week 26 MTN Super League match involving Atletico Lusaka and FC Muza which ended 2-1 in favour of the host.
FAZ general secretary Reuben Kamanga says Kalunga had been suspended on the recommendation of the Technical and Match Review Committee of the Referees department that viewed video evidence of the contested decisions in the match played at Nkoloma Stadium.
“A video clip in which Mr. Kalunga awarded a penalty to MUZA FC in the game they played Atletico Lusaka on Saturday 1 March 2025 in a week 26 fixture was forwarded to the Technical and Match review committee of the Referees department. This committee is composed of eminent FIFA and CAF instructors and Assessors and is mandated to review the performance of match officials,” says Kamanga.
“The report from their incident review is that Kalunga was wrong to have awarded the ‘penalty’ among other contested calls that led to crowd trouble.”
He says FAZ would not exercise leniency on match officials that regularly failed to live up to the ethos of fair play in matches with stakes getting higher in the final stages of the league.
“At this stage of the league, we will only use referees who are committed to upholding high standards of officiating and not bring our beautiful game into disrepute,” he says.
Kalunga becomes the second high profile referee to be suspended this season after Shem Nyondo who was banished following his performance during the Week 17 fixture between Kabwe Warriors Football Club and Nkana Football Club played on 18th December 2024 at the Godfrey Ucar Chitalu Stadium in Kabwe.
For and on behalf of:
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA
Sydney Mungala
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
IMAGES CREDIT: FC MUZA
