PSL seeks to speed up disciplinary cases
ORLANDO Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns are set to know their fate in pending cases against them for fan misbehaviour as the PSL seeks urgently to clear a backlog of disciplinary hearings.
Kaizer Chiefs will learn shortly if they are to join the other two clubs on the PSL’s disciplinary committee roll after a fan of the club attempted to strike referee Lwandile Mfiki with a vuvuzela during the 1-1 draw with Lamontville Golden Arrows on Saturday. After the incident, Chiefs general manager Bobby Motaung urged their supporters to leave “bad decisions” meted out to the club by referees to soccer authorities.
Motaung urged the fans to remain calm as Amakhosi intensify their challenge for a double in the form of Nedbank Cup and Absa Premiership.
The PSL have said that they will set days for the backlog of hearings in the coming days, and with new disciplinary chairman Zola Majavu to hear the cases, punishment could be severe.
The Soweto giants and Sundowns are the only three PSL teams facing charges of failing to control their supporters, with Pirates in the most serious trouble and facing potential fines in excess of R1m for repeated acts of hooliganism by their fans.
The Buccaneers were found guilty of fan misbehaviour at the 2011 Telkom Knockout final — a game they won — but appealed against the decision, saying they should not be held liable for the actions of their supporters. While the legal process took its course on the matter, it held up every other PSL disciplinary case against the club and others.
The South African Football Association’s appeals board ruled last November that the club is liable for the actions of their supporters, allowing the other cases to resume.
In February last year, the club was charged with spectator misbehaviour and unsporting behaviour after supporters, on two occasions during the second half of a match, threw objects at the Black Leopards goalkeeper. The PSL then took two months to charge Pirates after a crowd invasion at the Moses Mabhida Stadium that followed their win over Lamontville Golden Arrows and successful defence of their league title that May.
Last August, they were charged after supporters threw an assortment of objects onto the pitch during the MTN8 semifinal second leg against SuperSport United at the Orlando Stadium.