07 Jun 2016

Botswana Football Association, National Disciplinary Committee has found Township Rollers guilty of using a defaulter in  Ofentse Nato and docked the club six points and four goals.

The two beneficiaries are Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Miscellaneous. Police XI who had withdrawn their protest before Botswana Premier League Disciplinary Committee has not benefitted but will appear before the NDCC to answer for issues relating to match fixing.

The judgement therefore means Mochudi Centre Chief are at the summit of the beMOBILE log standing with 64 points, followed by Township Rollers with 63 points. But because Chiefs cannot be handed the championship on a silver platter after benefitting from soft points, the NDCC has ordered a final play off between Rollers and Chiefs be played within 10 days to determine the real champion.

Township Rollers investor, Jagdish Shah said his club will comply with the ruling of playing the play off, although they had released all the players. “Currently Terence Mandaza, Lawrence Majawa and our coach Mark Harrison   have gone back home to check their families. We seriously have a logistic night mare to organise and prepare for that game,” he said.

Shah further said again the 10 day decision did not favour them because they had to play the game as early as possible so that it did not affect the national team, as they have to compete in COSAFA. Furthermore, he said they still had to locate their other players who had gone to their respective homes in other parts of the country.

“We are disappointed with the judgement, but there’s nothing we can do we have to follow what we are told to do. We will play the game. We will follow the rules. We will stick to our philosophy of taking football to the next level,” he said. 

In their statement, Chiefs say they are not entirely happy with the judgement as an order has been made that there should be a playoff for the gain of forfeiture points.

It says the decision leaves much to be desired as the BFA NDC failed to dock Rollers further three points for the match against Police XI who are now charged with match fixing for withdrawing their  protest against Rollers despite the fact that information was brought before the NDCC that Nato had participated in the said game as a defaulter.

“We wish to state that the management will further engage on what action will be taken to seek full justice and a closure to this marathon case as we still have the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS),” says the statement. 

Chiefs had appealed the matter to NDC after the BPL Disciplinary Committee had ruled that the protests lodged by Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Miscellaneous against Township Rollers were lodged after seven days from the date of their respective games with Township Rollers and therefore the protests become complaints in terms of Rule 9.3 of the BFA Play Rules and Regulations. 

The BPL Disciplinary Committee said they find that Township Rollers did play Nato in the two games therefore imposed a fine of P1000 for each game that he played.

They therefore did not dock Township Rollers three points and two goals for the Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Miscellaneous protests because they had failed to adhere to the procedures relating to lodging of protests by failing to protest within seven days of their games with Township Rollers as envisaged by Rule 6.2.1 of the BFA Play Rules and Regulations. ENDS