The Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League saga relating to which teams will compete in the provincial decider has taken another twist.
Sinenkani have instructed their lawyers to file an urgent court application to review and set aside the arbitration decision on Tuesday.
The decision by Tsietsi Ramatsekisa overturned the ruling ordering the three points received by FC Ravens in the match between the two to be forfeited.
Two weeks ago, the committee said there was a breach of rule 30.1 of the Safa competition uniform rules in the game, so Ravens’ victory from their January game against Sinenkani, which they won 1-0 at the Mphutumi Mafumbatha Stadium, was invalid.
Sinenkani initiated the case, claiming the match commissioner for the match against Ravens, Thenjana Mbangatha, had a son playing for the Ravens side, which violated the rule.
They took the matter to the Mthatha high court, which ordered it to be heard by the disciplinary committee.
Advocate Olebile Makompo, who chaired the matter at Safa House in Nasrec late in May, said that after submissions made by both parties, the committee found Safa Eastern Cape provincial officer Sikelela Mtangayi and match commissioner Mbangatha guilty on two charges.
Makompo said Mtangayi did not conduct due diligence in verifying whether Mbangatha was connected to any team in the Ravens and Sinenkani game.
Mtangayi was also found guilty of delegating his duty to appoint the match commissioner to Bonakele Sodoli, who is not a designated official.
Mbangatha was found guilty of accepting the assignment of being match commissioner, knowing he had a connection with a Ravens player and failing to recuse himself.
The committee also found Sodoli guilty of misconduct.
But on Tuesday, Ravens were deemed not to have been blameworthy, which was welcomed by the club’s officials.
On Wednesday, Sinenkani reacted to the most recent decision.
“After careful consideration of the award, our legal team has identified many irregularities by the arbitrator, and we hold a strong considered view that it is fatally flawed and cannot stand legal scrutiny,” a statement said.
“After exhausting all Safa internal avenues, we have been left with no option but to approach the court of law for a fitting remedy.
“Through our legal team, we have written to Safa reminding them about order number 4 of judge Rusi’s judgment, which ordered that no Eastern Cape decider game may take place until the matter is resolved.
“Sinenkani FC holds a strong view that the order by Makompo must be upheld to ensure that rules are followed without any favour or prejudice,” the club said in a statement.
Daily Dispatch
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