adminTadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
IT appears a technicality could provide Herentals with a lifeline in the saga related to the case in which they were found guilty of match-fixing.
The Students were docked three points, which saw them slip into the relegation zone, after the PSL Disciplinary Committee ruled they were guilty of manipulating their match against Black Rhinos last year.
Herentals won that match 3-0 and the result helped them secure another dance with the top-flight league. The Students were also fined $300 000.
Chapungu, who finished in the last relegation slot, would be the beneficiaries, with the airmen set to replace the Students in the Premiership. However, before that happens, a number of hurdles have to be cleared, given Herentals have appealed against the decision of the PSL Disciplinary Committee.
The avenues for a possible reprieve include the ZIFA Appeals Committee and, in the event they don’t get relief there, they can take their matter to an ad hoc committee put together by the association.
In the event such a committee still rules Herentals were, indeed, guilty of match-fixing, the Students — if they feel they need to pursue their case further — can still take the matter to the Court of Arbitration in Sport in Switzerland.
The CAS decision, in case the matter drags that far, could have the final decision which Herentals cannot appeal against.
According to experts, this could drag on for more than a year. In case the matter drifts that far, and Chapungu will not be able to feature in the domestic Premiership until the issue is finalised. However, legal experts who spoke to The Herald On Saturday yesterday said the onus was on Herentals to prove that they were not happy with the ruling of the PSL Disciplinary Committee. Their passion to keep battling their case, in the event the next leg of appeal doesn’t give them relief, will determine how far the matter could drag on. It also emerged yesterday that there is a technicality that could provide the Students with a lifeline. The ZIFA Appeals Committee can only hear a case that would have been deliberated on by the association’s disciplinary committee.
“The ZIFA constitution makes it clear that the judicial bodies of the association are the (a) the disciplinary committee; (b) the appeals committee and (c) the ethics committee,’’ the legal expert said.
“It states clearly, in Article 54 (ii), that ‘the responsibilities and functions shall be stipulated in the disciplinary code of ZIFA, which shall comply with the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the Code of Ethics of ZIFA.’
“Then, in the same Article 54 (iv), it’s stipulated that ‘the members of the judicial bodies (the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee, the appeals committee and the ethics committee) may not belong to any other body of ZIFA at the same time. That is crucial in terms of the discharge of justice, even in such a sensitive case like this one, because all the members of those judicial bodies should not be seen to have interests elsewhere so that justice is not only delivered, but is seen to have been discharged.’’
It appears, the PSL could have overlooked that crucial part because their three-man disciplinary committee is made up of Don Moyo, Vumi Ndaba and former referee Brighton Mudzamiri.
Mudzamiri is the vice chairman of the ZIFA Referees Committee, which means he occupies a place on another body of the association, and should not be sitting on any of the judicial bodies. “The other complexity here is that how does one take a case to the ZIFA Appeals Committee for it to hear it when the same issue was not handled by the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee, but another committee altogether?’’ the legal expert said.
“The reason why you have a primary judicial body at ZIFA, which is the disciplinary committee, is that they are the first port of call when such issues are tabled, and in the event of a challenge, it’s then taken to the appeals committee.
“They all belong to one family of judicial bodies because they are dealing with issues that all fall within the rules and regulations governing activities in association football.
“That is why you can’t take a case that would have been decided by the magistrates’ court to the ZIFA Appeals Committee in the event you are not happy with the verdict, because they are different bodies.
“The question then is, do the PSL have an appeals committee and, if so, at what point are then cases of such nature brought before the ZIFA judicial bodies and that will be something worth following closely in this case.’’
Online Reporter