Khoza: PSL cannot expel Royal AM
Today at 06:00 AM
Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza insists finishing the season with 15 teams would be bad for business as Royal AM continue to face challenges.
Thwihli Thwahla were hit with a transfer ban in 2023 over a dispute with Samir Nurkovic, who is owed R12 million in wages after the club terminated his contract prematurely.
The KZN outfit still aren’t able to sign any players and the reserves were expelled from the DStv Diski Challenge last month for failing to field a team in the youth league.
Royal AM lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but failed to get their transfer ban overturned and Nurkovic’s lawyer, Davor Lazic, approached the PSL last week to request the amount be paid through the club’s R2m monthly grant.
Khoza revealed that the PSL is still waiting on the outcome of the appeal and will strive to resolve the matter, but is adamant that everyone is planning around a 16-team Betway Premiership.
“We discussed it last week for the first time when it came to our notice,” Khoza said. “It appears there was an effort by the team to take the matter forward. We’re waiting for that report back from SAFA [the South African Football Association] because they’ve sent us a copy referral back to FIFA on what the outcome should be.
“We have to check with the clubs and remind them that the outcome of this judgment says you can’t sign players in windows of so many months until you pay.
“While this thing is still open it means you can’t register players and this time it came at the wrong time with the players. It was at the beginning of the season and some of them are above age [for the DDC], some have moved to other clubs, and you cannot fulfil the fixture with seven players.
“But if we knew at the time we could have advised them. Because of the ban they had to write to SAFA to get an explanation that the ban is across the board – it affects all the structures of the club.
“We’re waiting for the report back on the appeal that has been made – maybe we can give better information after that. It should not have taken this long and caused pain for everybody. But as soon as it comes to our table, we’ll resolve it as best we can.
“We did also call the club into the office to make them aware of how best we can help because I always say to my member clubs [that] when I shake hands with the sponsors, I say to them, ‘I’ve got 16 teams in the Premier Division and 16 teams in the Motsepe Championship’.
“I cannot finish the season with 15 teams. That’s bad business. Even the media are vying on the 16-team league, even the supporters are planning on 16-team league. Everybody is planning around the 16-team league.
“It’s very important we finish the season with 16 teams. If this thing happens and somebody defaults in the process, not because of how the system works, it becomes problematic.”
