The South African Football Association (SAFA) condemns the recent acts of unsportsmanlike conduct that transpired at the recently held 2017 ABC Motsepe National Play Offs in East London.
SAFA’s Integrity Officer received information of possible collusion before the semi-finals of the ABC Motsepe League Promotional Playoffs held in East London recently and called all clubs to warn them against any such action. However, the conduct of the players in that match left several questions that need to be answered.
As a result, the Association has resolved to charge Buya Msuthu (North West) and The Dolphins (Limpopo) with serious misconduct, which the Association deems as unprofessional and a violation of the SAFA Competition Rules and Regulations.
The Association has charged the two clubs as follows:
Buya Msuthu FC and its Players
The players and officials behaved in an unsporting manner, and played the game with no intention to win. Their behaviour was in contravention of the Competition Uniform Rules and Regulations, in particular Rule 24.4.4.
The players went to the field with no intention to compete and to violate the FIFA Fair Play principles. Their actions have brought the Game, SAFA and its Sponsors into disrepute.
The Association has therefore decided to charge three players involved and the club for such a conduct.
The Dolphins
The club committed serious misconduct by fraudulently replacing U-23 players with overage players before the start of their matches and infringed the Regulations, which provide that “clubs must start all the games with a minimum of five under 23 players”. The club’s actions have brought the Game, SAFA and its Sponsors into disrepute.
The above-mentioned clubs will be called to a SAFA disciplinary hearing on a date still to be determined.