Menzi Magubane
Is the Premier Soccer League (PSL) scared of Kaizer Chiefs? It certainly looks like it after they remained silent on the Soweto giant’s Covid-19 postponement saga on Monday, during a media conference.
When League Chairman Irvin Khoza called for a special meeting many expected him to address the media on the issue of Chiefs and their no-show in two DStv Premiership matches.
But no. The PSL boss announced the new DStv Compact Cup tournament. Everyone expected Khoza to talk about the Amakhosi and what is likely to be their punishment for not honouring those matches.
To be fair Amakhosi had been within their rights in not honouring those matches. They acted according to national government and health protocols after more than 30 members tested positive for Covid-19.
Furthermore, Chiefs did contact the league via written letters asking for five of their matches to be postponed due to the outbreak and the league never responded to those letters. Not a word.
What confused many was their ruling after the outbreak of the virus. It’s in the league handbook that no team can request a postponement of a fixture for Covid-related reasons.
It also states that a team which fails to honour their matches under those circumstances will forfeit the points and a 3-0 win will be awarded to the opposition side. What is stopping them from imposing that ruling on Chiefs and award Cape Town City and Golden Arrows three points each?
Last season the PSL wasted no time in dealing with the similar issue when Cape Umoya failed to turn up to their GladAfrica Championship match against Cape Town Spurs after several players tested positive. Spurs were awarded a 3-0 win.
And if they did it then, then they should do it now. After all, it is in the handbook that the entire executive committee agreed to. It’s worth noting that most club chairmen in the league, including Kaizer Motaung, are committee members.
Why is it a problem now that Chiefs are involved in this situation? If it is a problem to rule against Chiefs then they should just scrap that ruling altogether.
Image source: @OfficialPSL
