Absa Premiership trophy (Gallo Images)
- As football resumes in leagues around the world, it is still unknown when the PSL season in South Africa will resume.
- Despite rumours that a return date of 18 July has been set, this claim has been denied by acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe
- Kaizer Chiefs, who currently lead the PSL standings, are looking to land their first title since the 2014/2015 season.
SAFA acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe has criticised the PSL for thinking the league will resume next weekend, explaining that August is more realistic.
PSL acting CEO Mata Madlala sent a letter to SAFA this week citing 18 July as the potential date to resume the 2019/20 season.
However, Motlanthe has slammed the PSL for presuming a return so soon as it does not give teams or match officials enough time to properly prepare for play amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Motlanthe stated that it’s unlikely the league will resume before August.
“I would like to express utter surprise at the contents of the letter, coming as it does only a few hours after we agreed at our meeting, (at the request of the NSL) that we cannot conduct any substantive deliberations due to Mr Murphy’s absence due to ill health,” wrote Motlanthe in response, as quoted by Soccer Laduma.
“The unilateral confirmation of training venues and date for resumption of play on 18 July 2020 by the NSL is against the spirit of our meeting and the resolutions of the Joint Liaison Committee. Sadly, it also undermines Minister Mthethwa’s directive that the Association should play an overarching role in this matter.
“I wish to reiterate two critical factors we outlined at the meeting today (Friday), namely; that we are committed to the resumption of play under safe conditions wherein the safety of players, team officials, match officials and other participants is not compromised and secondly, that for the reasons outlined at the meeting and in the presentation I have since sent you, it is not practical to expect resumption of play before 01 August 2020.
“It is for this reason that we agreed to invite the management of the Referees Department to our next meeting to outline their project timelines, which will then enable all of us to take informed, responsible decisions.
“One of the primary considerations for the return to play is that the mobilization, administration, group training, and conditioning of match officials cannot be done with haste. It must be executed meticulously and with due regard to CAF and FIFA prescripts. This is in addition to the prerogative to respect the process outlined by government.”
– TEAMtalk media
