As if South African football can’t get more ridiculous, the promotion/relegation playoffs have been suspended… and back on and suspended again.
Three weeks ago, the GladAfrica Championship drew to a close with no champions being crowned.
Since then, with Royal AM ending top and Sekhukhune United challenging the outcome, it’s been a confusing mess.
Let me just bring you up to speed with this week’s madness.
After the PSL arbitration process found that Sekhukhune were to be awarded three points for a match in which Polokwane failed to field the required five U21 players in their clash, Royal AM went to court to successfully block the move.
It meant that the playoffs, which were supposed to kick off on Tuesday with Royal AM facing Richards Bay, were stopped from going ahead by the Gauteng High Court.
But the PSL appealed that decision and, with the playoffs interdicted, the bosses of SA football still managed to announce on Wednesday that Chippa United would host Sekhukhune in the tournament yesterday, only to have it blocked again.
After being threatened with further legal action by Royal AM they had to back off, tails between their legs.
In a letter made public, the PSL’s legal team said: “Be that as it may, and due to the dispute on the correct interpretation of the Nyathi AJ order raised in your letter [set on June 16], we [PSL lawyers] are instructed that the commencement of the 2021 GladAfrica promotion/relegation playoff matches between Chippa United FC and Richards Bay FC, scheduled for 3pm this afternoon [Thursday], will be postponed.
“Our client [PSL] will communicate to all affected clubs shortly. This is in no manner whatsoever an admission that your client’s [Royal AM] position is correct — it is not.”
Now forget the controversy around the reality-TV shenanigans of Royal AM’s owner Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize and her chairman/ No.10/ playboy/Amapiano star Andile for a second and think about who is really to blame for this mess.
Then consider that the PSL tried to block Sekhukhune’s rightful complaint and see Royal gain automatic promotion to the top flight.
And consider again that Sekhukhune’s complaint has been unresolved since January.
You guessed it, the PSL.
Hardly a season goes by without this type of end-of-season drama.
But that’s because the PSL do not follow their own rules.
And apparently not the intention of the court, either.
Now I understand that the issue is subject to appeal, which in most cases means the the court decision to suspend the playoffs is now pending.But for those of us who have followed the PSL’s previous actions in dispute, it never ends well.
Remember the season that Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs) got relegated?
Well, whether Spurs’ management overlooked Tendai Ndoro’s eligibility to play for his third club that season was a problem or not, the PSL Dispute Committee ruled that Ndoro could play under appeal.
However, at the end of the season, they turned their backs on the Cape club and they were relegated after all they did was follow their rules of dispute and appeal.
Then two seasons ago, suspended Tebogo Langerman was on Mamelodi Sundowns’ squad sheet for the Nedbank Cup final against Bloemfontein Celtic.
Sundowns escaped a forfeit on the technicality that Celtic hadn’t made the complaint at the right time. These technicalities stand to play a huge role in the outcome of the current playoffs saga.
Rules don’t work if you can just brush them aside when it doesn’t suit you. Rules are rules only if they are adhered to. So how do expect the clubs to abide by them when the rulemakers just wipe their gatte af on it?
Until the PSL takes their rules seriously, this will happen again and again.
Maybe next time they should sort out their problems as soon as it happens.
Because all their plannetjies to kick off the new season could blow up in their faces now.
On Wednesday, the Premier League released their fixture list for next season and I can bet you that the PSL are already finalising theirs, as they should.
But this whole delay at the playoffs is bound to have a knock-on effect and the new season could well be pushed out.
Worse still is what could happen if the PSL just say “to hell with it” and just congest the season by cutting down the pre-season. Can you imagine the effect on the players’ health?
After a bubble tournament in 2020 and playing the whole of last season under pandemic conditions, players will have to cope with another packed campaign.
I don’t want to be a fearmonger, but we saw what happened to Christian Eriksen on Saturday after playing around three matches a week last season.
Our footballers do not deserve to be put under those conditions and the PSL will have to come up with a solution to give the players more time to prepare their bodies.