Kaizer Chiefs have won their arbitration case against the Premier Soccer League after the South African Football Association arbitrator, Nazeer Cassim SC, ruled in their favour on Friday.
PSL had charged the Soweto giants with not honouring their assignments against Cape Town City and Golden Arrows in 2021. Amakhosi raised their case that they were not in a position to honour those fixtures because of a Covid-19 breakout at their Naturena camp.
Cassim ruled that the matches should be replayed, thus giving the Glamour Boys a huge boost in their season campaign. Had the judgement gone their way, Stuart Baxter’s side would have certainly had six of their points docked.
"It is my view that KC [Chiefs] was justified in not fielding teams for the fixtures on December 4 and December 8, 2021. These two games must be replayed," Cassim’s judgement read, as per Sowetan Live.
"There is much to be said that where possible games must be replayed in order to enable soccer to triumph and the best team on the day in question to be rewarded for its efforts.
"I am averse to the litigation process deciding the winner. It is better that the results of the match be determined in the field."
PSL prosecutor Zola Majavu is yet to give his response concerning the new development.
"I think had the officials of KC constructively engaged the officials of CTC [City] and GA [Arrows] timeously, the sensible consensus would have been to postpone the fixtures in order to protect the soccer players and in the public interest," Cassim continued.
"The officials of KC were wanting in this regard in not timeously engaging their respective colleagues."
The prosecutor, despite handing the PSL side a favourable judgement, found them at fault on a number of occasions.
"KC were at fault for not properly motivating its case before the football manager. It was at fault for not properly coming to grips with its own case and avoided answering pertinent questions raised by the league compliance officer, which proper responses would have assisted the parties coming to grips with the issue.
"KC must in the result be liable for the legal cost of the league ... [and] must pay the wasted cost occasioned by City in attending at Johannesburg on December 4 ... [and the] cost incurred by Arrows, if any."
