- Nairobi City Stars lost 0-1 to Tusker FC on Sunday evening at Kenyatta Stadium.
- Salim Babu blamed the match officials for poor decisions that cost his team, calling them out publicly.
- City Stars sit at the bottom of the 18-team league table with 24 points and seven matches remaining.
Nairobi City Stars head coach Salim Babu was left fuming over the match officials’ decisions in their Sunday defeat against Tusker FC at the Kenyatta Stadium.
City Stars, who were reduced to ten men after Wycliffe Omondi received a second yellow card, succumbed 0-1 to Tusker, courtesy of a lone strike by Dennis Wanjala in the first half.
The defeat prolonged the struggles of Simba wa Nairobi, who remain entrenched at the bottom of the league table with 24 points and continue to face the looming threat of relegation to the National Super League next season.
This match marked Salim Babu’s tenth in charge since taking over from Nicholas Muyoti, who resigned in January.
So far in his tenure, the former Kenya Police tactician has managed just one victory—a 1-0 triumph over Ulinzi Stars.
He has suffered five defeats and drawn four times, with the most devastating being a 5-0 thrashing by Kakamega Homeboyz.
Reacting to his fifth defeat in charge and City Stars’ 13th of the season, Babu lashed out at center referee Susan Nyambura accusing her of poor decision-making and questionable calls that allegedly influenced the match.
Tusker scored early, which deflated our morale, but we eventually found our rhythm again. The game itself was competitive, but the officiating left much to be desired,” Babu told Azam TV post-match.
The center referee made some questionable decisions that shouldn’t happen in football. I don’t think we should be constantly complaining about referees, but she really needs to improve. They should not ruin matches in a way that suggests favoritism. The officials need to step up their game.”
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Nairobi City Stars tactical approach against Tusker
Babu also shared the tactical adjustments he made after being reduced to ten men.
After we were reduced to ten men, we changed our formation. We played with three defenders and pushed the others into midfield. We managed to control the game despite being a man down.
It was just a few mistakes from the referee and some minor errors from the players that cost us today. But I know we’ll correct that in the next match,” he reiterated.
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Looking ahead, Babu—who is also on national duty with the Kenya U20 team at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt his side will prpare for their next clash against Shabana FC, set to take place at Kenyatta Stadium on Saturday 26, 2025.
