Riverside coach and board member Kelly Smith is not a happy man after his side lost 3-1 to Cloud 9 in the LFA playoffs last weekend.
Without making any reference to anyone in particular he claimed there was a “snake in the grass” used to ensure Cloud 9 won at all costs.
The game was replayed when in August Cloud 9 cited players fielded by Riverside were on FC Buffalo’s books.
A rematch was ordered and Cloud 9 emerged victorious but now Riverside are crying foul, also bringing into question the credibility of the disciplinary committee who called for a rematch.
Smith questioned why Cloud 9 director Nkululeko Sitywantsi, who is a vice-president of Safa-Buffalo City, sat in on the DC. He felt this was a clear conflict of interest.
Sitywantsi, however dismissed the claims saying he was at the DC representing his club, which is the norm with any other club owner.
He said the only person barred from doing so was a regional president as per the Safa statutes.
“No one would pump in their money into a club and then let issues involving your investment bypass you, it just cannot be,” said Sitywantsi.
“I sat in that DC representing my club and presented arguments backed up by researched facts with proof and we won fair and square.”
But Smith differed. “You have a director of the complainant sitting in the DC assembled by Safa-Buffalo City to which the same guy is also vice-president and you expect the process to be fair, no ways.
“There's a snake in the grass here, something is not right.”
The Riverside coach also inferred that Cloud 9 might have fielded illegitimate players in the replay, because upon requesting the bulk forms of the initial playoff match, its whereabouts were said “to be unknown”.
Safa-Buffalo City secretary Vukile Mlanjana rebutted this, saying that “there is no such thing as missing bulk forms”.
According to Mlanjana, there are procedures to follow when requesting such information which Riverside have not exhausted.
“Riverside people know what to do if they are unhappy about something and they must write a letter to us and we will respond accordingly,” said Mlanjana.
Asked what next, Smith said he would meet with Riverside executive to decide the way forward although he believed “these people (Safa-BC) are in charge and I stand no chance of winning even if I protest because the replay was not supposed to happen in the first place.
“I'm not bitter about the results of last weekend's game, I'm just against unfair sportsmanship which is clearly the case here. It is sad if this is the direction our football is taking.” —- mawandem@dispatch.co.za
Riverside coach cries foul after playoff defeat
Without making any reference to anyone in particular he claimed there was a “snake in the grass” used to ensure Cloud 9 won at all costs.
The game was replayed when in August Cloud 9 cited players fielded by Riverside were on FC Buffalo’s books.
A rematch was ordered and Cloud 9 emerged victorious but now Riverside are crying foul, also bringing into question the credibility of the disciplinary committee who called for a rematch.
Smith questioned why Cloud 9 director Nkululeko Sitywantsi, who is a vice-president of Safa-Buffalo City, sat in on the DC. He felt this was a clear conflict of interest.
Sitywantsi, however dismissed the claims saying he was at the DC representing his club, which is the norm with any other club owner.
He said the only person barred from doing so was a regional president as per the Safa statutes.
“No one would pump in their money into a club and then let issues involving your investment bypass you, it just cannot be,” said Sitywantsi.
“I sat in that DC representing my club and presented arguments backed up by researched facts with proof and we won fair and square.”
But Smith differed. “You have a director of the complainant sitting in the DC assembled by Safa-Buffalo City to which the same guy is also vice-president and you expect the process to be fair, no ways.
“There's a snake in the grass here, something is not right.”
The Riverside coach also inferred that Cloud 9 might have fielded illegitimate players in the replay, because upon requesting the bulk forms of the initial playoff match, its whereabouts were said “to be unknown”.
Safa-Buffalo City secretary Vukile Mlanjana rebutted this, saying that “there is no such thing as missing bulk forms”.
According to Mlanjana, there are procedures to follow when requesting such information which Riverside have not exhausted.
“Riverside people know what to do if they are unhappy about something and they must write a letter to us and we will respond accordingly,” said Mlanjana.
Asked what next, Smith said he would meet with Riverside executive to decide the way forward although he believed “these people (Safa-BC) are in charge and I stand no chance of winning even if I protest because the replay was not supposed to happen in the first place.
“I'm not bitter about the results of last weekend's game, I'm just against unfair sportsmanship which is clearly the case here. It is sad if this is the direction our football is taking.” —- mawandem@dispatch.co.za
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