Tinkler confirms Cape Town City protest against decision on Kaizer Chiefs

Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has confirmed the club has lodged a protest against the decision to have their match against Kaizer Chiefs rearranged.

City visited Chiefs at FNB Stadium for a Premier Soccer League match last December but Chiefs did not show up citing their camp was hit by Covid-19 and they could not raise a team.

After the PSL declined to postpone that fixture, together with the other one where Chiefs were scheduled to visit Golden Arrows, independent arbitrator Nazeer Cassim ruled that the matches should be rescheduled.

But City have refused to have their fixture against Chiefs rearranged despite the decision made by the arbitrator being set for review by the Gauteng High Court on May 10.

“The Chiefs game, I don’t even think about that, because that’s not in my hands,” said Tinkler as per iDiski Times.

“That, I’ll leave to the chairman. But I know we’ve put in a protest against that. So whether that game will take place or not, is for me right now, I don’t even think about it, I think about the next game, which is Sundowns.

“I approach the Sundowns game the way we had already planned and prepared. We have what is it eight days, nine days to prep for that game, because the game got moved, it was supposed to be on the weekend, so now it got moved obviously to midweek.”

City will visit Sundowns on April 27 and City are now within a chance for a top-two finish which comes with a Caf Champions League spot for next season.

If their match against Kaizer Chiefs is declared a walkover, they would be handed three points on a 3-0 scoreline which would be a boost to their top-two chances.

The club from the Mother City are currently third on the PSL table, four points behind second-placed Royal AM.

Late last week, City distanced themselves from a PSL circular which stated all clubs had agreed on the way forward concerning their outstanding fixture against Chiefs.

“Regrettably it has been brought to our attention that Circular No.16 of the National Soccer League has become a public document which leaves us no alternative but to declare that we distance ourselves from its content,” City said

“The insinuations that we are party to or part of this decision is untrue. We categorically do not agree to this process and have responded in writing to the league and the parties on two occasions now, reserving our rights as a club to defend our position in this matter.”