The drama at the embattled Royal AM is nowhere near being over as the Premier Soccer League (PSL) executive committee has suspended all their league and cup matches until further notice.
This means that their Betway Premiership encounter against Orlando Pirates on Thursday will not be played.
Additionally, the PSL has also suspended Royal AM’s upcoming Nedbank Cup tie against Motsepe Foundation Championship side Milford FC, which was scheduled to be played on Monday.
Club under curatorship due to owner’s tax woes
Royal AM is currently facing financial difficulties and has since been placed under the curatorship by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) due to a tax debt owed by club president Shauwn Mkhize. The December salaries of players and other club stuff were not paid. MaMkhize, as the club president is commonly known, is also being investigated by Sars for her alleged unpaid R40-million tax bill.
“On 9 January 2025, Royal AM FC informed the League that it could not meet its commitments in respect of its match against Chippa United FC on 11 January 2025 due to difficulties arising from the appointment of a curator,” the PSL said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The executive committee (exco) has since convened three separate meetings seeking the assurance that the club, under curatorship, will be able to meet its fixture commitments in a compliant fashion.
No guarantees forthcoming
“On 17 January 2025, [the] exco was informed that a joint letter of comfort (from club management and the curator) would be provided confirming that the issues that led to the club being unable to meet its commitments had been resolved.
“No such letter of comfort has been forthcoming and [the] exco has been left with no alternative but to cancel PSL fixture 106 – Royal AM vs Orlando Pirates [at] Harry Gwala Stadium at 19h30 – and to suspend all other Royal AM fixtures (Betway Premiership and Nedbank Cup) until further notice.
“The Executive Committee will meet again on Friday 24 January 2025 at 11h00 to afford Royal AM (under curatorship) to make representations regarding this matter.”