Ex-Zambia star banned for ripping Nkana shirt and kicking TV boom mic

Ex-Zambia striker Alex Ngonga has been banned after tearing his Nkana shirt and kicking SuperSport TV’s boom microphone in Saturday’s Kitwe derby defeat to Power Dynamos.

Ngonga was substituted in the 75th minute of Nkana’s 1-0 home loss to their Kitwe archrivals at Nkana Stadium.

Live on TV, the hot-headed striker tore his Nkana shirt and then violently kicked SuperSport TV’s mic which went flying in the air.

Ngonga’s conduct did not even amuse the Nkana fans, who themselves are not strangers to violence and have a checkered history of hooliganism both home and away.

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) General Secretary Adrian Kashala said in an official letter to Nkana on Monday that Ngonga’s ban is provisional.   

ZAMBIAN FA STATEMENT

“We have received an official complaint from the Zambia Premier League about the misconduct, offensive behaviour and bringing the name of the game into disrepute by your player Alex Ng’onga who, after being substituted, tore his jersey and kicked the microphone for SuperSport,” said Kashala.

“Due to the gravity of the matter, the secretariat is invoking Article 53 (4), and the player will be suspended from participating in any FAZ-organized game until the matter is concluded by the Disciplinary Committee.”

Ngonga is a former Power player and moved to Nkana in April 2020 after falling out of favour that season at his ex-club just across the road from Nkana.

He went on to get some revenge for that in May with a goal in a 2-0 derby win over Power.

It remains Ngonga’s only Kitwe derby goal against Power to date.

NGONGA’S CHARACTER

Ngonga is a complex figure in Zambian football and has a love-hate relationship with fans.

He famously led Zambia to the 2013 COSAFA Cup title when he scored the opening goal in Chipolopolo’s 2-0 final win over Zimbabwe in Ndola.

Ngonga was later a subject of interest from Mpumalanga Black Aces and AmaZulu but later ended up at Gabonese club CF Mounana.

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, his aggressive play was a threat to opponents and was Chipolopolo’s standout player, particularly in the home and defeats against Nigeria.

But Ngonga never scored a goal in the Moscow qualifiers.

Ngonga’s glaring misses in Zambia’s 1-0 away loss to Nigeria in Uyo on October 7, 2017, earned him notoriety back at home, where his mother’s home in Kitwe was stoned by unknown angry fans.

Meanwhile, Ngonga is currently struggling as he has only managed to score four goals after 14 league games for the record 13-time Zambian champions.

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