Johannesburg - The Premier Soccer League (PSL) season yet again failed to live up to its lofty billing administratively, but let’s be grateful that there won’t be any chaos leading to court battles.
Last season, we were not here: duly congratulating the champions of the GladAfrica Championship, Richards Bay, while looking forward to honouring those who stood head and shoulders above their peers. No!
The game was embroiled in court cases as Shauwn Mkhize wanted her CSI Royal AM to earn outright promotion to the elite league come hell or high water, before she settled on buying the status of Bloemfontein Celtic.
What led to such turmoil was leaving legal matters unresolved thanks to the poor PSL disciplinary committee run by Nande Becker back then.
The PSL avoided the same trap by the smallest of margins this season after reappointing ‘the legal eagle’, advocate Zola Majavu, as the new prosecutor until the end of the season after the resignation of Becker.
But truth be told, Majavu’s verdicts, together with his DC, were questionable. Clubs owned by some high-profile members in the exco walked away with slaps on the wrists. Ask Tim Sukazi, the TS Galaxy supremo…
Owned by the PSL’s acting chief executive Mato Madlala and exco member Kaizer Motaung, Golden Arrows and Kaizer Chiefs were only handed fines for bringing the league into disrepute.
It was not only Sukazi who had a problem with the running of the legal department, so did Cape Town City’s head honcho John Comitis, who is – wait for it – also part of the exco.
Comitis cried foul after Chiefs were granted permission to replay their two matches, one of which was against his team, that they forfeited due to the outbreak of Covid-19 at their base, claiming: “It’s a dark day for South African Football!”
That was rich coming from him, after his team played without player cards against Maritzburg United last year and merely walked away with a fine.
Majavu has had his hands full since assuming office. Who can forget how Sukazi, a chairman of a football club with an all-access accreditation, was denied entry into the dressing room at the Orlando Stadium?
But, perhaps, all those disturbing acts don’t come close to the fact that fans also resorted to protests after they were still barred from the stadiums although the lockdown restrictions permitted 2 000 vaccinated spectators at the venue.
The fans finally returned to the match venue after the stadiums were opened to 50% capacity, but after the PSL stalled in following the new regulations, there were murmurings that “the PSL only cares about DStv subscriptions, not us”.
The new season will start on a high, with teams and individuals vying to defend their crowns, while there’ll be new kids on the block.
We, therefore, hope the PSL administration can take a leaf out of that book – and be great again!