By Swalley Kenyi

MUKONO FUFA delegate Joseph Mwanje said yesterday that disgruntled Nalubaale FC fans have vandalised Buikwe stadium.

Mwanje, who was also the club chairman before he relinquished the position last season, said he had gone in hiding for fear of being hurt by the fans protesting FUFA’s decision to drop Nalubaale from the Uganda Super League.

“Everybody is disappointed and that is why they are removing iron sheets and burning car tyres in protest. It is chaotic here,” Mwanje said before confessing that he was not near the scene.

“I expected FUFA to give (management of) the club a chance but not dismiss it summarily. I’m going to appeal to the (FUFA) appeals committee,” he added.

A credible source in the area confirmed that fans had gathered to catch up with the latest on the fate of the club adding that there was no sign of chaos.

A former Nalubaale official said the fans are planning a demonstration to FUFA House to express their disappointment.

FUFA dismissed Nalubaale from the super league on Monday saying the Buikwe based club no longer met FUFA standards to compete in the top flight soccer.

FUFA cited sh38.5m the club had accumulated in players and coaches’ salary arrears for eight months as one of the reasons.

The 2009/2010 league, whose fixtures are expected to be released today, will now have 17 teams.

FUFA secretary Moses Magogo has, meanwhile, clarified that the revised constitution does not provide for dissolving the assembly until after polls.

Magogo said there was no power vacuum because the delegates and the executive are still legitimate officials.

There was a belief among officials that FUFA president Lawrence Mulindwa had dismissed the delegates after the assembly in Mukono on Saturday.

“People do not just have the culture to read. It is also possible the FUFA top ranks had not read and internalised the new constitutional provisions on the matter,” Magogo noted yesterday.

“The constitution does not provide for dissolving the general assembly neither the FUFA executive.”

The federation constitution provides that elections of delegates be held within two months before expiry of the term of the assembly.