Johannesburg – The PSL has announced it is seeking to urgently appeal Judge Nyathi’s interdict suspending the national first division’s GladAfrica Championship promotion/relegation play-off fixtures scheduled to kick-off on Tuesday.
Judge Nyathi suspended the play-offs on Monday night after hearing an urgent interdict lodged by Royal AM following the promotion of Sekhukhune United as the rightful winners, through a court ruling, of the first division’s league championship.
During Sekhukhune’s match against Polokwane City in January, Sekhukhune lodged a protest, arguing that Polokwane failed to meet the regulation to include five under-23 players on the team sheet as stipulated in the league’s handbook.
The matter went for arbitration and advocate Hilton Epstein SC sanctioned Polokwane by awarding three points to Sekhukhune last month. But Polokwane and the PSL were unhappy with the outcome and challenged it in court.
However Judge Roland Sutherland upheld the outcome of the arbitration and awarded Sekhukhune the three points last Saturday.
Hearing none of it, Durban side Royal AM, who won had won the league if Sekhukhune had not been awarded the points, interdicted the outcome of ruling by Judge Sutherland last Saturday.
Then on Monday Judge Nyathi indefinitely suspended the play-offs until the “application is heard and determined as one of urgency” and “pending the final determination of leave to appeal”.
On Tuesday the PSL announced via a statement that its executive committee had “resolved to urgently seek leave to appeal against the order handed down by the Honourable Mr Acting Judge Nyathi”.
“Acting Judge Nyathi interdicted the end of season promotion/relegation play-offs that were due to commence at 15h00 on 15 June 2021,” the PSL said in a short statement.
“The PSL has been compelled to seek urgent relief as the last day of the official season is the 30th of June 2021. Many player contracts terminate on that date and any further delay in completing the play-offs places the start of the 2021/22 season at risk.”
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