Why the premiership and lower tier seasons had to be played to their conclusion

The topflight and lower tier seasons had to be played to their conclusion on the field of play to ensure integrity and fairness‚ says Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza.

Khoza announced on Monday that professional football will resume on August 8 with the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup. Mamelodi Sundowns face Bidvest Wits while Bloemfontein Celtic tackle Baroka FC in the two semifinals.

The league programme will resume three days later.

“It is very important that this league is seen to be one of the most progressive on the continent‚ and that results are settled on the field of play‚” he said.

“Any other thing that was going to face legal challenges and things like that is not what the PSL is known for.

"To finalise the results on the field of play is the best way to settle the score of who must go down‚ who must go up‚ who must win the league and who must be in the top eight.

"All that is going to be settled on the field of play‚ which is the principle we adopted from day one‚ (and) we are going to do everything in our power to finalise the season.”

Khoza also praised the SA Football Association (Safa) for going out of their way to ensure that the referees will be ready to officiate when the two leagues resume.

“We are happy that the issue that was on the table with referees has been resolved and there is nothing stopping us from training properly.

"Fortunately‚ Safa have gone out of their way to make sure referees are ready and as we speak referees are being tested and they have flown them down to Johannesburg. We are at the point where the referees are ready to go into the PSL bubble.”

Safa Medical Officer and Chief Compliance Officer Dr Thulani Ngwenya on Tuesday morning revealed that all the referees have been tested for Covid-19 and only three had come back positive.

“Only three referees tested positive for Covid-19 but are all asymptomatic. We are monitoring them on a daily basis and they are quarantining on the other wing of the hotel‚” said Ngwenya.