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The Mighty Bulls were slapped with a $5 000 fine and have to pay $3 000 by the end of July after $2 000 was suspended for the rest of the season on condition that they do not commit a similar offence.
Motor Action were charged for defying the league’s authority as they failed to fulfill their match against Caps United at Gwanzura Stadium on 15 April.
In terms of Article 18,5 of the PSL rules and regulations, “clubs have no right or powers to change fixtures without the written approval of the league”.
Motor Action whose benefactor Eric Rosen is the board member marketing were charged for bringing the game of football into disrepute.
“Order 31 of the league’s rules and regulations states that it is an act of misconduct on the part of the club where; 31.1.8 “it fails to fulfill a fixture for which a date and venue has been fixed by the league,
31.1.9 “it fails to comply with any lawful order or instruction made by the disciplinary committee, and official of the league and/match officials,
31.2.17 “behaves in a manner which brings the league or any of its sponsors into disrepute or endangers the welfare of the league,” reads the charge sheet.
The Mighty Bulls had pleaded not guilty but the disciplinary committee found them guilty.
Motor Action join Quelaton and Caps United, the two other clubs that have faced heavy fines from the league’s disciplinary committee.
Quelaton were not as lucky as the other two teams as they were slapped with an effective $5 000 fine after being found guilty of using a suspended player, Zibusiso Sibanda, during their 3-0 loss to Motor Action. They did not have any part of their sentence suspended.
The PSL Disciplinary Committee also fined Caps United $6 000 for causing the abandonment of their match against Chicken Inn at Gwanzura Stadium on 7 April.
The Green Machine were then ordered to pay an effective fine of $4 000 after $2 000 was suspended on condition that their fans do not commit a similar offence for the rest of the season.
Besides the $3 000 that Motor Action will pay, they also lost three points which were awarded to Caps United.
Repeated efforts to get comment from Motor Action were fruitless.
Meanwhile, the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele challenged the clubs to abide by the league’s rules and regulations.
“We are striving to have a smooth sailing league and it is our hope that the clubs will complement our efforts to achieve this goal,” said Ndebele.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter