Kaizer Chiefs had better check their privilege.
Had they not been owned by a sitting PSL board member, they would have been punished by the league for not honouring their December fixtures already.
Such is their privileged position in South African football, they are still dodging the bullet.
The ugly fight they’ve been putting up not to forfeit those two matches has stripped the PSL of every scrap of integrity and credibility as it drags on and on and on. Makes me want to throw up.
If you have been following the drama, then well done, you have more patience for these types of things.
But I can imagine that there are some of you who don’t care, couldn’t care or just given up on seeing the league or Chiefs do the right thing.
At the resumption of the league after the initial Covid lockdown, the PSL set a rule saying that clubs must play their fixtures regardless of how many players are sidelined by infections.
Every club had to stick by them and, for example, now-defunct Cape Umoya United were punished for not honouring their NFD fixture against Cape Town Spurs last January.
So the precedent was set. We all knew what would happen if you couldn’t play your game.
But on December 3 last year, they applied for all of their fixtures during that month be postponed after reporting that a hele 31 players and staff had tested positive for coronavirus.
The request was first met by silence from the PSL, even after Chiefs had failed to show up for matches against Cape Town City and Golden Arrows.
The grootkoppe then turned down the request and according to chairman Irvin Khoza, the matter had been sent to the football department.
What was supposed to happen next was that the league announce that Chiefs would forfeit the points
The league then announced that they would have a press conference on December 13, only to announce their Compact Cup distraction and they have kicked the can down the road ever since.
They then announced a January 5 update, but that was a nog n waste of time before saying that they would have a hearing on the 21st.
That hearing was postponed to the 25th and then guess what happened?
Chiefs put in request with the South African Football Association to have the case sent to “arbitration”, with the PSL and club having until Monday to agree on an arbiter.
Who knows when this mess will be sorted.
But let’s be clear on one thing: had this been another club - well apart from Orlando Pirates - they would have had six log points deducted, with a 3-0 win awarded to each of City and Arrows.
Instead, we can expect more shenanigans.
I have no idea what will happen next, but I can imagine that Chiefs will somehow escape the punishment that the PSL has prescribed.
There will be some sort of compromise. My guess is that the games will be rescheduled with a monetary fine.
Look I don’t expect clubs with Covid case to be kicked while they are down - the disease, as we all know is serious.
What I do expect is that the clubs and the league follow their own rules and be consistent.
Last week, there was a massive outcry in the Premier League after Arsenal had their north London derby clash against Tottenham postponed with just one Covid case.
What the other clubs were mad about was that the league was not transparent in their decision-making on the case.
It forced the Prem to change their policy this week, saying that clubs would need a minimum of four positive Covid cases before even approaching the league for a postponement.
And I’m fine with that. Change the rules if you need to, but at least enforce the initial set.
The fact that the PSL and Chiefs have gone to Safa to arbitration tells me that the rules do not apply to Amakhosi.
They won’t accept the punishment and rather than force them to, the league are being slapgat and absolving themselves of responsibility.
But when the league is run by powerful club owners, as is the case with Chiefs now, the rules will always be bent in order to appease them.
The PSL obviously needs an independent body from the clubs to run its affairs or we’ll get the same thing over and over and over again.
It’s a league of their own. And it makes me want to throw up.