SOWETAN SAYS | PSL must take firmer stance on Royal AM saga

It has been over six weeks since Royal AM played an official PSL match, and it seems they are no closer to fulfilling fixtures after a Sars curator took over the club.

The saga is threatening to plunge the PSL into chaos, especially if the league continues to pretend as if the controversy is nonexistent.

Two weeks ago, the league spoke for the very first time on the matter, telling us it had taken the decision to suspend all Royal’s games until they satisfied the league they could honour fixtures.

This week we put the call to the PSL’s long-acting CEO, Mato Madlala, hoping for an update because, among Royal’s outstanding fixtures, there’s a Nedbank Cup first-round match against national first division side Milford. Madlala told us there’s no update, yet the PSL has released Nedbank Cup second-round fixtures which will take place next week. What happens if Royal are unable to provide assurances sought by the PSL?

An immediate solution would be to grant Milford a free pass into the second round, so that they can play Sekhukhune United as per the draw, but that’s just but one fixture. Royal’s entire programme has been halted since the start of the year, and a permanent solution must be found. It is clear the problems dogging the club won’t go away anytime soon. The PSL must take a firmer stance against them.

It looks highly likely that the PSL will have to conclude the season with 15 teams, because Royal won’t be able to put a team together – with players now owed salaries from last month, as we reported this week. It is a shambles of epic proportions.

The PSL behaving as if the problem doesn’t exist is not helpful. The league should take South Africans into confidence and be open about the challenges at the club. After all, last year, the league took a firm decision to remove Royal’s reserve side from the Diski Challenge league, as they could barely field a team.

Then, we assumed it was mainly because the club didn’t have sufficient players because of a transfer ban. Many people correctly empathised with them, but asking football fans – and other PSL teams – to now bear with the current chaos is unfair.

The club’s situation is unprecedented – with Sars taking over. The league must take decisive action. so an unprecedented decision must be effected. Royal should be given an ultimatum – comply or face expulsion from the league.

In that way, we would have a clue as to what’s going to happen rather than wait in the dark.