Right royal drama threatens play-offs
ROYAL AM’s sense of entitlement knows no bounds in their relentless pursuit of automatic promotion to the Premiership.
Even though the ruling by Gauteng deputy judge president Roland Sutherland dismissed their application to review the arbitration ruling, Royal AM were still in the running for promotion by their inclusion in the PSL promotion/ relegation play-offs.
The arbitration ruling was that Sekhukhune United be awarded three points from a fixture against Polokwane City, who fell foul of the rules of the GladAfrica Championship. Polokwane were content with the initial penalty of a monetary fine and points deduction after they defaulted in their match against Sekhukhune.
However, the gloves came off when Sekhukhune won the appeal for the match points. Sutherland’s ruling meant Sekhukhune would end up Championship winners and with it, automatic promotion to the Premiership.
Yesterday, the embittered Royal AM applied to the High Court to lodge an application to the Supreme Court of Appeal against Sutherland’s ruling.
Throughout yesterday, the PSL had been strangely silent on the matter. The least the league could have done was to allay fears that the play-offs, scheduled to start today, were not proceeding. According to the play-off schedule published by the PSL on Saturday, Richards Bay will host Royal AM at Umhlathuze Sports Stadium today. Both Royal AM and Richards Bay are Championship teams. The third side in the play-offs is Premiership team Chippa United, who finished 15th in the league this past season.
An official from KwaZulu-Natalbased outfit Richards Bay yesterday told Independent Media that their club will fulfil the fixture. Her comment was simply: “All I know is we are playing tomorrow”.
Royal AM have not made an official announcement on their latest legal gambit, but co-owner and wealthy Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize went on social media to say indirectly that her team will not be playing in the play-offs.
Her post, in part, read: “Who said a male-dominated territory was easy?
I am still standing tall and firm on my ground, not shaken by it (the ruling), thanking all those that send messages of support (sic).”
On Friday, a day before Sutherland’s ruling, Mkhize addressed a football gathering in Durban and warned that if the ruling went in favour of Sekhukhune, there would be disruptions.
“Whatever happens, we are champions. If we don’t win the case, the league won’t start (for the new season) on time,” Mkhize said.
For the uninitiated, Mkhize is the over-the-top reality TV star in SABC hit soapie Uzalo. She is the daughter of Florence Mkhize, the late ANC veteran and anti-apartheid activist. It is starting to look like the Shauwn Mkhize soap opera, unless the PSL can rein in this NFD “wild child”.