By Tinotenda Zhou 

HARARE - The ruling ZANU PF party and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) are once again at loggerheads after the party demanded hundreds of VIP privilege cards for access to matches for their senior members throughout the country, ZimOnline gas gathered. 

Top sources at the PSL said ZANU PF had now resorted to threats after the league management committee refused to issue out the cards. 

According to the official, the ruling party claims that there are a lot of officials from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party who have been issued with cards so they also wanted to enjoy the same privilege. 

"ZANU PF officials have been besieging us for the past two weeks demanding VIP cards to gain access to matches for free but like we have always done before, there is no way we will mix politics with our football.  

"But they are pestering us demanding that we give them the cards. They are now claiming that we have issued dozens of MDC members with cards which is not true. Individuals who deserve to have the cards come to us and we treat each case separately without looking at political affiliation. 

"It is saddening that politicians always want to mess our game but we are determined to make sure that we are not dragged into the mud," said the official. 

But ZimOnline gathers that pressure to issue the cards to ZANU PF officials is coming from PSL chairman, Tapiwa Matangaidze, a strong ruling party apologist who was part of President Robert Mugabe's birthday fund-raising committee earlier this year. 

Matangaidze could not be reached for comment on the matter. - ZimOnline