Chiefs had lodged a protest challenging the eligibility of Township Rollers midfielder, Ofentse Nato. They are of the view that the player was improperly registered and should be declared a defaulter. The midfielder was part of the Rollers side that defeated Chiefs 3-1 in the first leg of the Mascom Top 8 semi final two weeks ago.
The case started last week before the Botswana Premier League DC where Rollers, in their preliminary arguments, had called for the dismissal of the protest. They argued that Chiefs did not follow the right procedure when lodging a protest as per article 5.1 of the Mascom Top 8 Play Rules and Regulations. The article stipulates that protests be lodged before kickoff of the said fixture. In their defence, Chiefs said their spokesperson, Clifford Mogomotsi made a verbal protest to a representative of the competition’s organising committee, Bickie Mbenge, before the game. Mbenge denied ever receiving a protest from Chiefs. However on Tuesday, the BPL DC ruled that they had not been given sufficient reasons to doubt Mbenge’s words.
