Kit gaffe to hit Usuthu, Marumo in the pocket

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has charged AmaZulu and Marumo Gallants for last week’s incident that led to their match being abandoned after just 10 minutes of play due to a clash in kit colours.

Sowetan has been told each team could face a fine of up to R1m  due to costs related to rearranging the fixture the next day, which ended 0-0, and restructuring other matches that involved the two sides at the weekend.

“Both AmaZulu and Marumo have been charged. The hearing will be on November 15. In terms of components manual, there’s an obligation on both teams to bring the normal kit and an alternative kit,” said a source close to the league’s dealings.

“There are going to pay a lot of money. They can get to a pre-agreement with the league or get a suspended fine. The league will be asking for a R1m fine from each ... it’s a maximum fine if they don’t want to pay for damages.”

PSL prosecutor Nande Becker, who told Sowetan on Wednesday that guilty parties would pay costs incurred by broadcaster SuperSport, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

“The match was played a day later, so you must remember one thing ... there was a lot of damages because the SuperSport crew had to be there for another day ... they had to hire a generator. There’s a lot of advertising during the match. They had [to pay for] accommodation for staff that were there,” said the mole.

“The fixture between AmaZulu and Cape Town City [that was played yesterday] had to be postponed for a day [it was initially billed for Saturday]. So there are additional costs for Cape Town City now because they’ve got to book their stadium for a second day ... they’ve got to book security because everything is duplicated. The league has to rebook tickets for match officials.”

The insider also revealed Usuthu could be subjected to additional charges because “the venue wasn’t fit since there were no floodlights at the stadium”.