19 May 2016

Township Rollers look set to be crowned the 2015-16 beMOBILE Premiership champions after a Botswana Premier League (BPL) Disciplinary Committee (DC) judgment on Wednesday evening did not sanction the docking of points against the club. 

The BPL DC ruled that Rollers should not be docked points for the Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Miscellaneous and Police XI matches, where Rollers had used midfielder Ofentse Nato, recently declared a defaulter by the Botswana Football Association (BFA) National Disciplinary Committee.

Police withdrew their protest, while Chiefs and Miscellaneous were deemed to have protested after seven days, which turned their protests into complaints as per the BFA Play Rules and Regulations.

In presenting their ruling, BPL DC chairman Busang Manewe said Rollers could not be docked three points and two goals in accordance with play rules article 6.2.1 as neither of the sides seeking relief had followed the right procedures of protest.

Manewe explained that although 6.2.1 allows for a side that fielded a defaulter to be docked three points and two goals, it contains the condition “provided that procedures relating to protests shall be adhered to.” These procedures of protests are explained in BFA Play Rules article 9, with 9.3 stating that “all protests must be made in writing to the respective league committee or competent BFA authority not later than seven days after the game.” 

Manewe said article 9.3 had not been adhered to and as such the protests were to be treated as complaints, with Rollers being charged P1 000 for each game they used Nato, as information that he was a defaulter had reached relevant disciplinary structures within 30 days of the player being fielded.

In presenting their arguments, Miscellaneous chairman, Oscar Sefhako had said that indeed they had lodged a complaint, but they were under the impression that even in such a circumstance they were entitled to three points and two goals.Chiefs member, Gabriel Kanjabanga said the DC should consider the intention of the play rules, which in spirit sought to punish teams that had used a defaulter.

Rollers member, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae argued that the BFA Play Rules only consider protests lodged within seven days for the docking of three points and two goals.  He said Chiefs had used the same arguments in the 2014-15 season when they used a defaulter, Pontsho Moloi, who had accumulated five yellow cards in different matches, and should have been suspended after the third. 

Since the aggrieved parties Letlapeng and Police XI had not followed the procedures of protests, Chiefs were not docked points by the same BPL DC committee that sat on the Nato case, Ngakaagae argued. 

In the same season, Sankoyo Bush Bucks accumulated 29 points using a defaulter, Morris Ruzivo, but were only docked three points and two goals credited to FC Satmos, the only side that had followed due process of protest.Just after Tuesday’s hearing, only Chiefs indicated their intention to appeal the ruling to the BFA NDC. 

Rollers public relations officer (PRO) Phempheretlhe Pheto said that while they were happy with the ruling, they still insist that Nato was not a defaulter at all, and had appealed the Gilport Lions ruling to the FIFA Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which sits in Lucerne Switzerland. 

Tuesday’s ruling means that Rollers end up on 67 points on the log, with second placed Chiefs five points adrift on 62. ENDS