SAFA NEC member Jack Maluleke (right) with the organisation’s president, Danny Jordan.
By: Refilwe Sebola
Limpopo ABC Motsepe league provincial playoff runners-up, The Dolphins FC lodged a protest last Sunday against champions Mpheni Home Defenders’s participation in the playoffs following their 1-0 defeat at the Oscar Mpeta Stadium in the University of Limpopo.
The Bochum based side’s protest letter stated distinctly that they did not recognise Mpheni as legitimate winners of stream A since they were still having a pending protest case against them.
They further added in their letter that the Vhembe side was supposed to have faced their charges first before they could be crowned winners.
Their statement, however did not augur well with the South African Football Association (SAFA). They responded through their National Executive Committee (NEC) member Jack Maluleke who stated unequivocally that the Dolphins’s protest was out of order.
He furthermore stated that the two finalists were declared qualified winners of their groups by the football administrator which is SAFA. “Dolphins are not football administrators. This thing of teams wanting to win games on the boardroom table must end. They lost in the field of play” he said.
Maluleke added that Mpheni’s cases in their stream had nothing to do with the Dolphins.
His sentiment was echoed by SAFA Mopani regional President Vincent Ramphao who vowed to personally attend the Disciplinary Committee seating. Ramphao reiterated Maluleke’s statement that the Dolphins’s protest was somewhat bizarre.
Howbit, should Dolphins case reach arbitration, it will not be the first time. Last season they forfeited their spot in the playoffs after they had beaten another Capricorn district team in Magesi FC. The SAFA DC verdict found them guilty for fielding a defaulter in their games.
Runners-up Magesi took over their place in the playoffs and gained promotion to the National First Division.