Chiefs and PSL agree to arbitrator to be appointed by Safa

Kaizer Chiefs and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) have agreed to use an arbitrator in a case about two matches the club failed to honour in December because of an outbreak of Covid-19 among its players. 

The SA Football Association (Safa) will appoint a senior counsel as arbitrator.

Of three candidates put forward, Chiefs nominated Nassir Cassim SC and Hilton Epstein SC. The PSL nominated Cassim. The third option was William Mokhari SC.

Safa will make an appointment if the two parties cannot agree on an arbitrator. Given that both nominated Cassim, the advocate who handled the arbitration in the matter of Ajax Cape Town’s ineligible player Tendai Ndoro in the 2017-18 season — it was later referred to Fifa — he is likely to be accepted as arbitrator. 

Dates of February 7 to 11, pending initial meetings between the legal representatives of the two parties and the arbitrator, have been revealed for the start of the arbitration process.

Chiefs and the PSL had been set a deadline of Monday to agree on an arbitrator.

Amakhosi applied on December 3 to have four matches in that month postponed due to an outbreak of 31 cases of Covid-19, which grew to over 50 cases, and which the club said required them to shut down their headquarters at Naturena and send staff, players and coaches into isolation.

The application was rejected by the PSL’s football department and referred to its executive committee, which also turned it down. Chiefs have appealed against that decision at arbitration at Safa.

PSL prosecutor Zola Majavu has ordered Chiefs to appear before a disciplinary committee over the two matches they failed to honour, one at home against Cape Town City and the other away against Lamontville Golden Arrows.

The disciplinary committee hearing has been postponed to February 25 to allow for the arbitration to be completed.