By Karyn Maughan
Presenter Mark Batchelor is unlikely to grace Supersport screens again following his alleged involvement in a fight.
The bottom line is that Mark has been involved in a number of inappropriate incidents and, quite honestly... he cannot be seen to conduct himself in that way, Supersport's Vaughn Bishop said on Wednesday.
It seems Mark's private life and his professional life are not mixing well. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that he will be appearing on Supersport again.
Bishop confirmed that Batchelor had been taken off air after gym instructor Ivor Josephs identified him as one of four men who had assaulted him on Saturday night.
We've had calls from viewers asking how we can have Mark on our channel (given the allegations), Bishop said.
We respect him as an analyst and we have stood by him in the past, but this time it seems that he has stepped over the mark, he said.
The former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs striker's alleged bad behaviour was compromising the values of the Supersport brand, Bishop said.
Meanwhile, it is unclear whether Batchelor's accuser will open a case against him.
Josephs has identified him as one of the first of a group of four big guys to attack him on Saturday, after he and his friends had eaten at
the Bottega restaurant in Parkhurst.
They had knuckledusters and boots on, he told 702 Eyewitness News.
Josephs - who was left with a split right eyelid, bruised left eye and broken facial bones after the incident - said he had passed out during the attack and woken up in hospital.
Josephs, who said he had no clue about the motive for the beating, said he was carefully measuring what action to take.
Batchelor's attorney Ian Small-Smith on Wednesday said it was not in his client's interests for him to give his version of what had happened during the alleged assault until a charge had been laid against him.
Small-Smith said they would ask Supersport to review its position if, say in a week or so, no charge has been laid.