Dysfunctional PSL not doing itself any favours

It has been a conflicting start to the year for the PSL. On the field, the matches have been fantastic and should easily attract fans back to the stadiums. The huge scorelines tell of a competitive and unpredictable league which will have a nail-biting finish.

For fear of being accused of peeling off scabs and pouring salt on old wounds, I will refrain from mentioning the scores and the teams involved.

But there have been two incidents off the field which have brought shame upon the PSL and which should be addressed and if need be, investigated thoroughly to avoid any future recurrence.

First it was the matter of former Golden Arrows player Clifton Miheso who alleged that a club official forced him at gunpoint to sign a letter terminating his contract. Miheso – who is a Kenyan – ran and spoke to the media in his home country and the story went viral.

Arrows issued a statement to deny Miheso’s claims and later furnished us with a handwritten letter which Abafana Bes’thende claimed was penned by the player. In the letter he was apologising for the lies he had told.

But later on he claimed he had been pressured into writing the letter. The matter has since been taken up by the players’ union, Safpu.

Safpu claim to have written to the PSL to seek justice for Miheso and that something be done on

Sibongiseni Gumbi

the matter. But it seems they have not received any joy.

This week the PSL was shamed in the worst possible way when Safpu protested on the sidelines of the Fifa Executive Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre. They were asking for Fifa to intervene and ensure the PSL looked into the matter.

I must say the way in which the PSL has handled the issue has not gone down well with me. It seems they are sitting there hoping the matter just goes away and that we forget about it.

If I were the PSL, I would have taken the matter seriously and investigated it because someone between Miheso and the club is lying to us. We need to know if Arrows are harbouring imposters who masquerade as football administrators or if Miheso was just bitter that his dream move had fizzled out.

This is not a matter we can just sweep under the carpet and forget about. We need a full investigation so we can have closure and know who was wrong so they can be dealt with accordingly for tarnishing the PSL’s usually flowery image.

Secondly, there was the fiasco which followed Orlando Pirates’ 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Sundowns a few weeks ago. Besides issuing a statement to condemn the fans’ behaviour on that infamous Saturday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld, the PSL has remained worriedly quiet on the matter.

There are now suggestions that they are waiting for the Soweto Derby next weekend to be played before charges can be brought against Pirates for their fans’ destructive behaviour.

This is clearly not good for the PSL’s image and the authorities should learn to act quickly on such matters to avoid confusion which becomes the breeding ground for rumours and innuendo as people try to understand what is happening.