No end to Ajax saga

IT REALLY doesn’t matter on which side of the fence one sits with regard to the latest controversy that has football again standing red-faced in front of the nation. Whether in support of Ajax Cape Town, or whether one believes the PSL is right, it’s all immaterial. Because, in all honesty, the case has been a complete mess right from the start.

Without delving too much into the detail – so much has already been written and discussed – the issue revolves around the eligibility of Ajax’s Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro.

He has played for three clubs this season.

This is against Fifa rules. But the Cape side believes there are extenuating circumstances to this particular case.

As such, they were initially given the go-ahead to play Ndoro. The PSL disagreed. After that, though, it degenerated into utter chaos. Two arbitration hearings, two High Court cases, and we are still nowhere near a solution.

With the arbitrator ruling against Ajax in the second arbitration hearing last week, and the club docked nine points, they were relegated from the PSL. But that’s not where this matter ends. The Cape side will continue to fight. Their next appeal to the court is to get a review of the arbitrator’s decision – and if they get no joy there, they have vowed to take it even further – to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Ajax hold the opinion that they have not been treated fairly. For one, they did not get have a say on the arbitrator – Safa rules clearly state that the club has to have input on the choice; secondly, the Dispute Resolution Chamber earlier in the season ruled that Ndoro could play, so why are those points now deductible?

The Cape side is of the opinion that, in the words of Shakespeare, there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. And, because of this, they will keep fighting – to the bitter end. And, all the while, local football will suffer as the game’s blundering administrators drag the sport from one ugly crisis to the next.

The promotion playoffs are under way, but whether they will carry any weight remains to be seen.

If Ajax are successful in their appeal, then it’s going to create an administrative nightmare for the PSL.