PSL Prosecutor Nande Becker Weighs in on Ongoing Saga Involving Royal AM
- Premier Soccer League prosecutor Nande Becker says he is studying all the evidence before deciding on Royal AM's fate
- Becker spoke just before the PSL decides on the sanction regarding Royal, who snubbed the play-off games against Chippa United and Richards Bay
- According to the legal guru, the league’s governing body may issue a judgement by the end of this week
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The Premier Soccer League is currently looking at the papers before making a ruling on the GladAfrica Championship team, Royal AM. That's a sentiment shared by PSL prosecutor Nande Becker.
Becker says the league’s governing body may have a decision on the Durban-based club as far as sanctions are concerned soon. The PSL prosecutor’s views come after Royal continued to snub the PSL Play-Off matches as they argue that they were supposed to be crowned as the new First Division champions.
Royal was demoted to number two and the league announced Sekhukhune United as the champions. But the club, owned by businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize, opted to take the legal route and challenged the decision.
Source: Instagram
The veteran legal head says he is looking at the three matches Royal failed to honour against Chippa United and Richards Bay. He told TimesLIVE:
“I’ve got most of the paperwork in respect of all three matches they have not played. However it isn’t a straightforward charge form there. There were a number of court applications preceding the playoffs. I wasn’t part of those proceedings. In the event that there were disciplinary issues subsequent to the court cases then I would have difficulty with making an independent decision and call on whether to charge or not.
“Unfortunately I have got‚ and am in the process of doing‚ a hell of a lot of reading. All the reports are in‚ I’ve got all the statements from the witnesses. Now it’s just a question of whether their defence has any merits‚ and whether there’s a case that is strong enough to convince a DC totally.
“And I can’t charge‚ for example‚ in the one match and not for the other. I will have to be consistent. If I’m ready‚ and I believe there is a case on the first match‚ that would follow for all the other matches as such. I will take the decision as to whether or not there are grounds to prosecute. The answer will be there by the time the playoffs have been completed. It’s being investigated and probably by the end of the week I would have reached a decision.”
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Chippa United’s DStv Premiership status almost guaranteed as Royal AM’s no-show is expected
The controversial PSL Play-Offs are set to continue on Wednesday afternoon when the Chilli Boys welcome the KwaZulu-Natal-based club.
However, with their continued insistence that they will honour Acting Judge Nyathi’s ruling, Chippa could get another free three points at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Coach Lehlohonolo Seema is quoted by the DispatchLIVE, praising his players ahead of the clash. He said:
“I am happy with the performance of the guys, especially the fight and the determination; to keep their nerves calm throughout all this time since the start of the playoffs. They have really been professionals and I am happy about that. We are also happy that we have fought to live another day in the premier league, and hopefully we will start better and make sure we don’t find ourselves in the same situation again.”
SAFA’s Motlanthe lashes out at the defiant Royal AM for snubbing PSL playoff games
In other stories about Royal AM, Briefly News had a story that the South African Football Association has weighed in on the ongoing saga involving the Premier Soccer League and GladAfrica Championship side, Royal AM.
According to SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe, the embattled club was wrong to take football matters to an ordinary court of law.
Royal dragged the PSL to the Gauteng High Court to challenge the decision to promote Sekhukhune United to the DStv Premiership. The decision by the league forced the KwaZulu-Natal side to fight for promotion in the PSL play-offs where they were scheduled to face Richards Bay and Chippa United.
However, the club owner Mkhize has insisted they will not honour the play-offs and have already failed to pitch for two of their matches against Bay and Chippa.
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Source: Briefly News
