Pitso's punishment heavy-handed

PITSO Mosimane deserved some form of punishment for his outburst after Mamelodi Sundowns' loss to Orlando Pirates in August, when he rumbled on about a conspiracy over Pirates' protest about Alje Schut's registration card.

Mosimane, typically and understandably, was highly emotional in the post-match interview, having seen his team suffer a heavy defeat. Among other things, he claimed there was "no way" Sundowns could have won, and insinuated Pirates had specifically targeted Schut with a view of destabilising his side.

No league in the world could have allowed him to get away with such comments, especially as he didn't provide any evidence to back them.

But the sentence meted out on Mosimane by the PSL's disciplinary committee - where he was fined R100000, which is the maximum that can be imposed on an individual - is plain draconian, given there are some unanswered questions regarding this case.

Pirates themselves opted to put us out of our misery a day after Mosimane's outburst, detailing in a statement how they had "come to know" of Schut's expired registration card.

They said they had given Mosimane ample time to reconsider fielding Schut, as the cards had been checked an hour before. But instead, Pirates said, Mosimane went against counsel and fielded the defender, only to allege that there was a conspiracy after Bucs lodged a protest.

One of the unanswered questions relates to that protest. Is it still on? The PSL hasn't told us. I suspect Pirates also saw the futility of going ahead with such a protest, as they won the match 3-0 anyway. But still, this is a protest that was made publicly, and withdrawing it silently doesn't wash.

Another unanswered question has to do with the PSL itself. Mosimane claimed in the aftermath of the Pirates media statement that it was the league who actually had issued Schut with a card bearing the wrong season. The league's silence in this regard is conspicuous. Surely issuing a wrong card amounts to making a mockery of a league that prides itself on professionalism? Could the PSL charge itself with "bringing the league into disrepute"?

Instead, they went for a soft target, Mosimane, who was not helped by his previous utterances. But the most absurd thing about the DC's sentence was that it sought to bring Patrice Motsepe, the Sundowns president, into the fray. It ordered Motsepe to hold some press conference alongside Mosimane to retract the comments the coach made on August 27.

This makes little sense.

Interestingly, the DC didn't impose a touchline ban on Mosimane, something which should be considered for coaches' indiscretions, instead of a monetary fine.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has just returned from an eight-match ban. His crimes: tapping the back of the linesman's head, protesting, applauding his sending off and remaining in the stands instead of leaving the stadium after his sending off.

Hitting coaches heavily in the pocket will lead to them cowering into silence, even when they have strong views on certain issues they should freely speak about. Mosimane and Sundowns should consider appealing against this sentence, not least as the question about Schut's registration card remains unanswered.