Ratanang case throws football into chaos
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday April 23, 2022 06:00
The matter caused disarray in the local game as the boardroom squabbles led to Rollers and arch-rivals, Mochudi Centre Chiefs playing a league decider after Popa lost points for fielding an improperly registered Nato.
The league sponsors refused to release the prize money until Popa withdrew their case from the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland. To this day, it is yet to be known if Nato was properly registered or not. There is an air of similarity to the Nato case as with just five rounds of league games to be played, Rollers' Onkarabile Ratanang is in the middle of a debate of whether he is properly registered to play or not.
The player is said to be missing from FIFA Connect, a programme used by member associations to register their players. The fullback has missed the last two games since the news broke and was replaced by Lemponye Tshireletso in the team's line-up.
The matter is expected to be decided by the Player's Status Committee (PSC) and Rollers have since decided to reserve their comments on the issue. Sources close to Rollers say the matter is a sensitive topic within the club's barracks as the management maintains that they have done everything right and will wait for a verdict on the matter to prove their case. The Botswana Football Association and its organ, the Botswana Football League (BFL) on the hand, are also keeping the football fraternity guessing as they are yet to comment on the matter.
The two organisations are said to have been working on a case against Rollers and a verdict could come out as early as today (Friday). The Blues could be brought in front of the PSC to prove their case. Mmegi Sport is informed that the FIFA Connect process raised eyebrows on its first try locally. Informers say, there is a high possibility that some players across the 16 Premier League clubs have a player who has been registered improperly and the Blues are just targeted for ‘political reasons’. "It's a precaution, there are teams looking to protest and the feeling that Zac (Gaborone United's director, Nicolas Zakhem) is out to get Rollers, so might as well wait for the verdict.
Rollers' silence is not an admission of guilt and there are players from other sides also affected," a source said. Earlier this month, the BFA had instructed the BFL to open an investigation against Jagdish Shah for bringing the game into disrepute through his utterances after an interview with a local newspaper on the matter. Rollers are challenging for the league honours, just two points behind rivals, GU.