Eastern Cape Bees were dealt a heavy blow yesterday when the SA Football Association (Safa) expunged the three points they received against Highbury FC.
This means that Future Tigers, who finished second in the ABC Motsepe League, will now represent the province in the promotional play-offs to be played in Buffalo City in July.
To add salt to the wound, Bees were also slapped with a R100 00 fine, of which they have to pay half within 14 days.
The ruling by Safa comes after Tigers lodged a complaint against Bees for fielding Anele Jakuja in their game against Highbury on April 8.
At the time, Jakuja had been registered as a Bhisho Stars player as he was never cleared by the Bees’ feeder team, Tigers argued.
The Safa sanction released yesterday afternoon read: “The points in the match between EC Bees FC and Highbury FC be expunged in line with Rule 19.
“The club is fined a total amount of R100 00. R5 000 which is payable within 14 working days of this ruling and the remaining half is suspended for a period of six months, commencing at the commencement of the new Motsepe League season.”
The door has not been closed on Bees as they have an option to appeal the decision. Should they decide to appeal as they are likely to, that will mean the saga is far from being solved.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Bees team manager Zama Nene would not comment, only saying the team would issue a statement in due course.
But on its Facebook page, Bees said it would appeal the ruling.
“We want to assure you that we are glad the verdict is out as Future Tigers tried all their dirty tricks against us in building their case.
“As EC Bees we are going to challenge this ruling through the arbitration and a neutral decision on this will be decided.
“We will remain the EC ABC Motsepe Champions and we are going to represent you in the play-offs,” the statement read, urging supporters not to press any panic buttons.
As things stand, the ruling against Bees has paved the way for Tigers to be part of the national championships where all ABC Motsepe League winners from all nine provinces will play for a shot at competing in NFD soccer.
Tigers have now finished as the third tier winners with 72 points – one point above Bees, who initially ended the season with 74 points after beating Tigers 2-0 at the weekend.
An ecstatic Tigers boss Vukile Mlanjana said he was happy that the rules were applied and that the points were deducted from Bees.
“Yesterday they were the ones that were celebrating. Now it’s us. We sent the boys away for a week but they will come back on Sunday because we have to concentrate and plan for the play-offs now,” he said.
When Tigers lodged the complaint, the Ginsberg side was heavily criticised in football circles, with some believing that the team had resorted to winning games in the boardroom rather than on the field of play.
But Mlanjana said they had not done anything that other teams in the Premier Soccer League and the best leagues in the world had not done.
“Justice has been served. Teams must make sure that their players have authentic information before they register a player.
“According to rule 11.5 the onus is on the player’s team to reasonably ensure that the information submitted is accurate in every aspect and that all requirements are adhered to,” he said.
Safa head of legal department Tebogo Motlanthe said Bees will have 72 hours to appeal the decision or to follow the arbitration route.
“We respect the ruling. The decision stands until it gets contested by the other team. If they go to arbitration the decision will be final and binding,” he said.
Points blow for the Bees
This means that Future Tigers, who finished second in the ABC Motsepe League, will now represent the province in the promotional play-offs to be played in Buffalo City in July.
To add salt to the wound, Bees were also slapped with a R100 00 fine, of which they have to pay half within 14 days.
The ruling by Safa comes after Tigers lodged a complaint against Bees for fielding Anele Jakuja in their game against Highbury on April 8.
At the time, Jakuja had been registered as a Bhisho Stars player as he was never cleared by the Bees’ feeder team, Tigers argued.
The Safa sanction released yesterday afternoon read: “The points in the match between EC Bees FC and Highbury FC be expunged in line with Rule 19.
“The club is fined a total amount of R100 00. R5 000 which is payable within 14 working days of this ruling and the remaining half is suspended for a period of six months, commencing at the commencement of the new Motsepe League season.”
The door has not been closed on Bees as they have an option to appeal the decision. Should they decide to appeal as they are likely to, that will mean the saga is far from being solved.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Bees team manager Zama Nene would not comment, only saying the team would issue a statement in due course.
But on its Facebook page, Bees said it would appeal the ruling.
“We want to assure you that we are glad the verdict is out as Future Tigers tried all their dirty tricks against us in building their case.
“As EC Bees we are going to challenge this ruling through the arbitration and a neutral decision on this will be decided.
“We will remain the EC ABC Motsepe Champions and we are going to represent you in the play-offs,” the statement read, urging supporters not to press any panic buttons.
As things stand, the ruling against Bees has paved the way for Tigers to be part of the national championships where all ABC Motsepe League winners from all nine provinces will play for a shot at competing in NFD soccer.
Tigers have now finished as the third tier winners with 72 points – one point above Bees, who initially ended the season with 74 points after beating Tigers 2-0 at the weekend.
An ecstatic Tigers boss Vukile Mlanjana said he was happy that the rules were applied and that the points were deducted from Bees.
“Yesterday they were the ones that were celebrating. Now it’s us. We sent the boys away for a week but they will come back on Sunday because we have to concentrate and plan for the play-offs now,” he said.
When Tigers lodged the complaint, the Ginsberg side was heavily criticised in football circles, with some believing that the team had resorted to winning games in the boardroom rather than on the field of play.
But Mlanjana said they had not done anything that other teams in the Premier Soccer League and the best leagues in the world had not done.
“Justice has been served. Teams must make sure that their players have authentic information before they register a player.
“According to rule 11.5 the onus is on the player’s team to reasonably ensure that the information submitted is accurate in every aspect and that all requirements are adhered to,” he said.
Safa head of legal department Tebogo Motlanthe said Bees will have 72 hours to appeal the decision or to follow the arbitration route.
“We respect the ruling. The decision stands until it gets contested by the other team. If they go to arbitration the decision will be final and binding,” he said.
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