PSL to appeal high court finding on Ajax Cape Town

THE Premier Soccer League will appeal against a high court finding on the Tendai Ndoro saga, and are confident the 2018/19 season will start next month as scheduled.

This was confirmed yesterday by the the PSL’s chairperson, Irvin Khoza, after an emergency executive committee meeting at the league’s offices in Joburg.

Judge Denise Fisher, at the South Gauteng High Court, set aside Safa arbitrator advocate William Mokhari’s ruling on Ajax Cape Town, in which he found the club guilty of five charges of misconduct arising from the fielding of Ndoro, who was deemed ineligible to play.

Fifa rules state that a player can be registered for three clubs in a season but can play only for two.

Ajax was Ndoro’s third club in a single season, after he represented Orlando Pirates and Saudi Arabia’s Al Faisaly.

Mokhari’s ruling saw Polokwane City, SuperSport United and Platinum Stars given three points for the matches they played against Ajax with Ndoro on the field. That ruling led to the Urban Warriors’ relegation to the first division. But they fought the matter and were handed a lifeline by Judge Fisher’s judgment.

That judgment, however, doesn’t take Ajax out of the woods just yet. The judgment set aside Mokhari’s ruling as it was found he did not have the “jurisdiction to determine the issue of Mr Ndoro’s eligibility to be fielded in the affected matches”.

Judge Fisher added that the matter must be taken to Fifa’s players’ status committee. That committee is governed by Fifa rules.

“We arrived at a conclusion that the judgment that was handed down must be appealed,” Khoza said.

“The facts and the details (of why we are appealing) must be referred to the board of governors, who will convene an emergency meeting next week (on Thursday). They will then ratify that decision.

“We will ask for the indulgence of the media and the public, to first give the board of governors a chance to evaluate the reasons we have provided as to why we haven’t opted for the directive as prescribed by the judgment, but we are appealing the matter.

“After giving the reasons to the board of governors we will release the reasons to the greater public – the fans, sponsors, Safa and everyone affected by the matter. What is important is that we are trying to address the matter as a matter of extreme emergency so that it doesn’t affect the start of the season.”

This case has dragged on for over six months. The 2018/19 season is scheduled to kick off in the first weekend of August but the participants and their order in the standings will be determined by the outcome of this matter, which means it could affect when the league starts.

“We are working towards the league starting on time,” Khoza said. “In life there are no certainties. That’s why next week we are having an extraordinary board of governors meeting. We have briefed our sponsors, the broadcasters and gave the clubs a heads up along with Safa and the minister of sport on what is happening.”