Emmanuel FC Chairperson Abel Maluleke is optimistic his side will win their case against Mpheni Defenders.
Emmanuel FC has lodged a complaint to the South African Football Association (SAFA) against Mpheni Defenders, the winners of the ABC Motsepe League stream A.
They have accused Mpheni Defenders of using an improperly registered player in most of their second round games. The player in question was registered with a Vhembe team in the Hollywoodbets league but left the team without clearance to join another team in the same league, and then joined Mpheni.
Emmanuel is asking SAFA to charge Mpheni for using an improperly registered player and also for using a player who played for three different clubs in one season. Should SAFA rule in Emmanuel’s favour Mpheni will be docked points and their place in the Provincial playoffs. The case was supposed to have been dealt with on Thursday afternoon; however, there has been no response from SAFA except for the change of venue for play-offs from Old Peter Mokaba to Oscar Mpheta stadium in the University of Limpopo.
This is not the first time Mpheni has been involved in a case of this magnitude after winning their stream. They were previously docked their place in the National playoffs by the football governing body in favour of the current National First Division league winners, Magezi, a few seasons ago.
Magezi had accused Mpheni of fielding an ineligible player and won the case after they lost 1-0 to Mpheni in the provincial playoffs. Another Giyani-based side, Happy Boys, also tried their luck with a similar case last season but failed to win their case.
Emmanuel chairperson, Abel Maluleke, is optimistic that his side will win their case against Mpheni Defenders and has mentioned that they have hired the best lawyers from Cape Town to tackle their matter.
The team is currently continuing with training in anticipation of a possible playoff spot. However, with only a day before the provincial playoff game kicks off at the Oscar Mpheta stadium in the University of Limpopo, it is not clear who will be Tzaneen United’s opponents.