Premier Soccer League (PSL) bosses are already playing around designing and formulating a 15-team league due to the imminent expulsion of Royal AM from the Betway Premiership this season.
A decision to expel Royal AM, owned by flamboyant businesswoman Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize, whose assets have been placed under curatorship by SARS, could be made as early as tomorrow when the PSL executive committee meets.
According to a well-placed insider, the executive body does not have the powers to expel clubs but it will make a recommendation to the board of governors (BoG). “And once the BoG is summoned, you can expect them to pull the trigger, as early as Monday.”
The league head honchos have been seeking a legal opinion since the saga is no longer a football matter – it is now a legal concern. They are closing all the legal loopholes and also engaging their sponsors and partners about the looming reality of having to cut the number of clubs to 15.
According to the informer, the league officials have also been deliberating on the relegation matter. “Obviously, the points gained against or by Royal AM would be nullified. The option regarding relegations is that the expelled club would take the spot of number 16 (which means automatic relegation). The club finishing number 15 will then play in the relegation/promotion play-offs with the Motsepe Foundation Championship teams.
“The league is treading carefully because a new precedence is being written. This can happen again because many teams are struggling financially. The only problem is that the league can expel the club and later the SARS curator could issue a letter of comfort that the club can continue,” added the informer.
The league was forced to suspend Royal AM after they could not honour their league fixtures and Nedbank Cup matches. They last honoured an official match on December 29. It is reported that Mkhize owes the taxman about R40-million.
League sponsors Nedbank and Betway had not responded to Sunday World questions at the time of going to print.
Said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha: “SuperSport views this as a PSL matter and we are confident that the PSL is taking measures to resolve it in the shortest possible time.”
