by Tichaona Chifamba
HARARE, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Star striker Knowledge Musona's withdrawal from Zimbabwe's senior national soccer team the Warriors, has jolted fans who want a quick resolution of the problems that led him to quit.
The 22-year-old player on Tuesday notified soccer governing body the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) that he was quitting international football following allegations that he could have been involved in match fixing during Zimbabwe's recent away games with Burundi and Mozambique.
ZIFA chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze had told a Press conference soon after the Zimbabwe/Mozambique game, which the teams drew nil-all, that Musona and fellow international striker Ovidy Karuru had been spotted entering the premises of former ZIFA CEO Henrietta Rushwaya, whom ZIFA accused of fixing previous games involving the Warriors.
Mashingaidze also announced that ZIFA had sent a dossier to FIFA over their suspicions regarding the two players' interaction with Rushwaya.
Musona plays for TSG Hoffenheim in Germany while Karuru plays for US Boulogne in France.
Musona's lawyers told ZIFA that he would only avail himself for future games after ZIFA investigated the allegations leveled against him, and if he was absolved of any wrong-doing, ZIFA should issue a public apology to him and notify FIFA that the matter had been resolved.
Since making the allegations, ZIFA had not made any moves to interview Musona, the lawyers said.
Musona is the Warriors' chief marksman and has accounted for all the three goals scored by the team in its last five outings.
Football analyst Simon Gomwe told Xinhua in an interview Wednesday that even though ZIFA erred in making the allegations, Musona had also erred in deciding to leave the national team.
"I think he is being given wrong advice. People are putting too much pressure on him to quit. ZIFA are human beings and can make mistakes. I think that's why they decided to keep quiet and not follow the matter up after they made the initial allegations," Gomwe said.
However, a journalist with a local newspaper stable said Musona had made the right decision and needed to be absolved before he committed himself to future games with the Warriors.
"If I were him I would not even have played the return match against Burundi. ZIFA has to clear him before he rejoins the Warriors because his image has been tarnished," the journalist said.
Musona scored the only goal in the African Cup of Nations qualifier to draw 2-all on aggregate with Burundi and proceed to the qualifying round on the away goals rule following a 2-1 loss in the first game.
Other football fans said ZIFA had to act quickly to avoid a player revolt, especially after the mother body intimated that there were security details shadowing the players.
Rushwaya, who has since been acquitted in the courts of law on the match-fixing allegations charges, has since rubbished the latest allegations and threatened to sue ZIFA over Mashingaidze's latest utterances.
The Warriors will be pitted with as yet unknown teams for the 2013 African Cup of Nations during a draw to be conducted in South Africa Thursday.
