SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe smack bang in the middle of Chiefs - PSL stand-off

Cape Town — Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe, the chief executive of the South Africa Football Association (SAFA), has been thrust firmly in the spotlight now that the Kaizer Chiefs — Premier Soccer League (PSL) stand-off has reached a critical point.

For now, the ball is firmly in the court of Motlanthe. On Tuesday, he will announce an arbitrator who will adjudicate in the matter involving Chiefs and the PSL. Motlanthe has informed the media that the two parties have three candidates they could choose from. They were expected to forward their choices by close of business on Monday (SUBS: Yesterday).

The three candidates all enjoy senior council status. They are William Mokhari, Nazeer Cassim and Hilton Epstein. The trio are no strangers to the national football fraternity, They have worked many cases for some time.

They are all familiar with the workings of the PSL and the National Soccer League's rule book, the 'Bible' of professional soccer in South Africa. Motlanthe explained how the arbitration process works.

“In line with article 81 of the disciplinary committee code, both Chiefs and the PSL must choose who they want as the arbitrator," said Motlanthe. "If the two parties cannot reach consensus in choosing one person, then I, as the CEO of the federation (SAFA), will have to appoint someone out of the three.

"Once he has been appointed, the arbitrator will decide on the date, time and venue.”

A few days ago, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) charged Chiefs for no-shows at two DStv Premiership matches in December. The matches in question are fixtures against Cape Town City (at FNB Stadium) on December 4 and Golden Arrows on December 8, in Durban.

The no-shows came about because Chiefs suffered a massive outbreak of positive