CAPE TOWN – Royal AM Football Club's sense of entitlement knows no bounds in its relentless pursuit of automatic promotion to the country's elite league.
Even though the ruling by the Gauteng Deputy Judge President, Roland Sutherland dismissed the application to review the arbitration ruling, Royal AM were still in the running for promotion by their inclusion in the PSL promotion/relegation play-offs.
The arbitration ruling was that Sekhukhune United be awarded three points from a fixture against Polokwane City who fell foul of the rules of the National First Division's (NFD) GladAfrica championship.
Polokwane were content with the initial penalty of a monetary fine and points deduction after they defaulted in their match against Sekhukhune. However, the gloves came off when Sekhukhune won the appeal for the match points even though Polokwane had nothing to gain.
Sutherland's ruling meant that Sekhukhune would end up league winners and with it, automatic promotion to the Premiership.
On Monday, the embittered Royal AM applied to the High Court to lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal against Sutherland's ruling.
Throughout Monday, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) has been strangely silent on the matter. The least the PSL could have done was to allay fears that the play-offs, scheduled to start on Tuesday were proceeding or not.
According to the schedule published by the PSL on Saturday, Richards Bay will host Royal AM at the Umhlathuze Sports Stadium, KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday at 3pm. Both Royal AM and Richards Bay are National First Division sides. The third team in the play-offs is the Premiership team Chippa United.
An official from the KZN-based outfit Richards Bay FC on Monday told Independent Media that the club will fulfil the fixture. Her comment was: "All I know is we are playing tomorrow".
Royal AM have not made an official announcement on the latest development but, co-owner and wealthy Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize went on social media to say indirectly that her team will not be playing in the play-offs.
Her post, in part, reads: "Who said a male-dominated territory was easy? I am still standing tall and firm on my ground, not shaken by it (the ruling), thanking all those that send messages of support."
On Friday, a day before Sutherland’s ruling, Mkhize addressed a football gathering in Durban and warned that if the ruling went in favour of Sekhukhune, there would be disruptions.
She said: “Whatever happens, we are champions. If we don't win the case, the league won't start (for the new season) on time."
For the uninitiated, Mkhize is the over-the-top reality TV star. She is the daughter of Florence Mkhize, the late ANC veteran and anti-Apartheid activist.
It is starting to look like the Shauwn Mkhize soap opera unless the PSL can rein in this NFD 'wild child'.
IOL Sport