Herentals ruling deferred

Sports Reporter

PREMIERSHIP outfit Herentals have been forced to wait a little longer as the ZIFA appeals committee, which met last week, has withheld judgment on the matter in which the Harare club is disputing allegations of match-fixing.

The matter came before the ZIFA appeals committee last Thursday.

However, ZIFA communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela said the ruling would only be availed to the parties on March 20.

The delay in announcing the judgement has further impacted on the start of the Castle Lager Premier League which has its own problems that are not a result of the Coronavirus pandemic that has led to the suspension of football matches across most leagues around world.

With just under a fortnight before the proposed start of the domestic season, the PSL has also been hamstrung by lack of adequate venues, failure by promoted sides to pay affiliation fees and the Herentals ruling.

PSL Spokesperson Kudzai Bare said the fixtures for the 2020 season would only be released once they are done with negotiating with their prime sponsors Delta Beverages and resolve affiliation fees issues.

“We have never stated any date, we have been on record saying the fixtures will be released after we sign with the sponsor and after resolving the affiliation issues,” she said.

Bare could not confirm if the newly promoted pair of Tenax and WhaWha, who had been given until Friday to pay their affiliation fees, had done so.

“I’m in Bulawayo at the moment, if they made their payments I will check with our accounts if we got proof of payment,” she said.

Apart from the affiliation fees, the Herentals/ Black Rhinos match-fixing scandal could be a thorn in the flesh for the PSL.

There hasn’t been a solution to the issue which has dragged for close to five months.

Herentals are accused of manipulating their 3-0 win over Black Rhinos at the National Sports Stadium on October 19, 2019.

They were brought before the PSL Disciplinary Committee in December and fined $300 000 in January, a verdict they are spiritedly challenging.

The Herentals appeal has also endured some stop starts with the matter being postponed three times along the way until last Thursday when the ZIFA appeals committee heard the case.

While they await the outcome of the appeals committee, they also have a complaint that was lodged by Bulawayo Chiefs to grapple with at the PSL Disciplinary Committee.

In the event that the Students are not happy with the ruling of the appeals committee, they still have other avenues for protest including the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland which is the last resort.

There is hope that the start of the league will not be left to drag on for more months as top-flight clubs have already stepped up their preparations for the 2020 season.

Champions FC Platinum and Chibuku Super Cup winners Highlanders engaged in the Castle Challenge Cup at Barbourfields yesterday which is the season’s official curtain raiser.