Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza says the Betway Premiership must finish the season with 16 teams to protect the integrity of the league despite the drama surrounding Royal AM.
Royal AM is in the middle of a legal battle with their former player Samir Nurkovic, which resulted in a FIFA transfer ban in 2023. Royal AM’s appealed the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but it was reportedly thrown out.
The KwaZulu-Natal side owe Nurkovic R12 million in wages after the club terminated his contract, and haven’t been able to sign any new players for over a year. This has necessitated them playing their chairman Andile Mpisane in midfield.
Royal AM were also booted out of the DStv Diski Challenge after they failed to field a team during the reserve team competition, because of the ban.
The SABC reported that Nurkovic’s lawyer Davor Lazic has approached the PSL and the South African Football Association (Safa) to recoup the monies owed to his client via Royal AM’s monthly R2-million grant that they receive from the PSL.
On Tuesday, after announcing that the winners of the top flight will receive R20-million in prize money at the end of the season, Khoza said they are monitoring the situation and hope that it can be resolved as soon as possible.
The chairman of the Premier Soccer League, Dr Irvin Khoza, has announced the prize money for the 2024/2025 #BetwayPrem winner. pic.twitter.com/hlmH0jFWJF
“We discussed it last week for the first time when it came to our notice,” Khoza told a press conference.
“It appears there was an effort by the team to take the matter forward. We're waiting for that report-back from Safa because they've sent us a copy referral back to FIFA on what the outcome should be.
“We have to check with the clubs and remind them that the outcome of this judgment says you can't sign players in windows of so many months until you pay.
“While this thing is still open it means you can't register players and this time it came at the wrong time with the players. It was at the beginning of the season and some of them are above age [for the DDC], some have moved to other clubs, and you cannot fulfil the fixture with seven players.
“In the days when I used to play, we used to play with seven players on the field. Even now it's allowed, but it's not good for the image of the game.
“But if we knew at the time we could have advised them. Because of the ban they had to write to Safa to get an explanation that the ban is across the board — it affects all the structures of the club.”
Khoza says it’s not going to be a good look if Royal AM can’t finish the season, especially after signing a R900 million, three-year deal with new league sponsors Betway.
However, Royal AM could face more sanctions from FIFA if they don’t sort out their mess with Nurkocvic.
“We did also call the club into the office to make them aware of how best we can help because I always say to my member clubs [that] when I shake hands with the sponsors, I say to them, 'I've got 16 teams in the Premier Division and 16 teams in the Motsepe Championship'.
“I cannot finish the season with 15 teams. That's bad business. Even the media are vying on the 16-team league, even the supporters are planning on 16-team league. Everybody is planning around the 16-team league.
“It's very important we finish the season with 16 teams. If this thing happens and somebody defaults in the process, not because of how the system works, it becomes problematic.”
@JohnGoliath82