Disciplinary D-Day approaches for Chiefs… but postponement likely

Chiefs were unable to honour two league matches against Golden Arrows and Cape Town City in December due to a widespread Covid-19 outbreak at their headquarters in Naturena.

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The PSL eventually announced that they had rejected Chiefs’ request to postpone the games, and the disciplinary hearing was originally set for 21 January. However, PSL Prosecutor Zola Majavu revealed that Amakhosi had referred the matter to arbitration at the SA Football Association (Safa), and the disciplinary hearing was subsequently postponed.

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Advocate Nassir Cassim SC has now been appointed as the arbitrator in the matter, with the DC matter postponed pending the outcome of the arbitration.

PSL Prosecutor Zola Majavu has now confirmed that the matter will be heard by the disciplinary committee on Friday, even though it’s expected that it will be postponed again.

“I can confirm that the matter concerning Kaizer Chiefs will indeed be before the DC on the 25th of February, 2022, where after it may well be postponed further on the basis that the arbitration has yet to be finalised. However, the matter must still be ventilated before the PSL DC to then further directives as it may deem fit,” Majavu explained, as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

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Chiefs are currently fifth on the DStv Premiership standings, but have only played 17 games

Recently, coach Stuart Baxter has called for flexibility when it comes to the arbitration ruling related to Chiefs’ missed matches in December.

Baxter has opened about the pending ruling, and stated it’s important that the PSL takes into consideration how other leagues have adapted their rules during the pandemic.

“I think that it would be easy for me to grasp that as a bit of an excuse Wouldn’t it? I could be all COVID, oh down to COVID,” he told journalists.

“[But] the whole globe, and global football, has been suffering. What I would say is that many leagues have been learning as they’ve gone along. They’ve made a ruling and then they’ve realised we’ve got to be more flexible than that. And many leagues have done that. 

“And I would just hope that we can do that in [South Africa] and I realise there is arbitration and all these things, so I can’t say too much. But I would hope that that will be the what comes out of this, that we move along with the knowledge we have of the situation. 

“Now, I don’t think there’s anybody in the [English] Premier League, who’ve had anywhere near [the outbreak] that we had. But there have been clubs that have had their games postponed and rearranged. 

“So I hope that we get we get to that point. If we don’t, we’ll have to deal with it. But I’m not going to use this as an excuse.”

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