Harambee Stars head coach Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee wants the Confederation of African Football to provide standardised procedures of conducting Covid-19 tests ahead of the African World Cup qualifiers to curb cheating.
Speaking exclusively to the Star from India where he has been hospitalised for a month now, the Kenyan tactician said his squad twice suffered the brunt of erroneous Covid-19 reports.
“We fell victims during our Afcon matches against Comoros and Togo in Moroni and Lome respectively.
“Left in the hands of the host teams, the procedure is subject to manipulation with false positive and false negative reports being returned mainly to weaken the opposition.
“You remember what befell us in Togo where the federation claimed that our key striker Michael Olunga tested positive for Covid-19.
“Curiously though, Olunga tested negative in Nairobi and even flew back to Qatar and got involved in top-flight matches for Al Duhail as soon as landed,” observed Mulee.
The tactician backed Caf's decision to push matches forward to September, saying it would afford him adequate time to refine his charges well enough before their first tie against Uganda in Nairobi on September 5.
“Postponing the matches to September was a good idea. Teams now have sufficient time to prepare for Africa World Cup qualifiers.
“I welcome the whole idea considering our league was halted in March and our local-based players had not been active until last Friday when competition resumed.
“They now have a chance to shake off the rust and I also have an opportunity to monitor and gauge their performance in league encounters ahead of the qualifiers,” said Mulee.
Mulee revealed he was now on the path to full recovery and ready to return home to link up with the Stars after being treated for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that depletes oxygen levels in the body system.
“I’m feeling homesick already. I hope to link up with the squad soon enough to prepare them for Africa World Cup qualifiers set for September,” said Mulee.
Mulee insisted he would reward players with a national team call-up and give them game time strictly on the basis of their impressive form.
He warned foreign-based players to move away from their comfort zone and compete aggressively with local-based players for the few slots available in the national team.
“Living abroad does not automatically qualify you to play for the national team. There will be no nepotism and links as far as selection is concerned,” said Mulee.
“I’ll not allow anyone to influence the selection process. It is my work to look and examine who qualifies or not. I’m looking for players who are Kenyan to the bone marrow and can sing the national anthem without any difficulties.
“I want to absorb players who are actively involved in competition and are performing week in week out,” he added.
Mulee lashed out at officials and players who have taken to match-fixing in the Kenya's top tier, saying they were exposing the country to unnecessary ridicule.
“It’s a very sad affair. This is a warning to the football family,” he said.
“Some goals that are scored are not convincing. What is coming out is that match-fixing is real, and it's the worst thing any player or official can do,” said Mulee.