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SABC vows to fight on

The SABC, through its spokesman Kaizer Kganyago, has vowed to fight to the bitter end in their dispute with the Premier Soccer League.

The SABC, through its spokesman Kaizer Kganyago, has vowed to fight to the bitter end in their dispute with the Premier Soccer League.

"Yesterday the arbitrator in the SABC-PSL dispute issued a judgment or determination on the SABC's application to amend the ambit of the dispute to include the question that the PSL has been negotiating in bad faith," said Kganyago.

"The PSL opposed the application and legal argument was conducted on May 28 2007 and judgment was reserved.

"The arbitrator has now made a ruling in favour of allowing the SABC's amendment.

"It was the SABC's contention that any prejudice that the PSL could suffer by the insertion of the amendment could be cured by an appropriate cost order, and accordingly the arbitrator has agreed and ordered the SABC to pay the PSL's costs for the opposed amendment application. e-tv was ordered to pay its own costs.

"One of the likely implications of this ruling is that the arbitrator will take longer than originally anticipated."

Kganyago adds: "The court interdict, which was granted in favour of the SABC on April 5 2007, barring the PSL from issuing a tender invitation while the arbitrator was in process, expired on May 25 2007.

"After that date the PSL was therefore able [to] and did reissue the invitation.

"It is still the SABC's strong contention that the PSL should await the outcome of the arbitration. To do otherwise will only serve to convince us of their bad faith, but, also, may draw in innocent parties into the mainstream of the dispute.

"Should the SABC be successful in the arbitration, which we are confident of, then any ongoing negotiations or 'deal' struck between anyone and the PSL may be reversed or nullified."

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