Chiefs welcome NAB ruling on Moyana
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Thursday December 18, 2014 11:38
Chiefs’ spokesperson, Clifford Mogomotsi said afterwards that they have always insisted that the player has a running contract with them and added that justice has finally been served.
“It is a fair judgment,” he said, referring to the ruling, which should see Moyana’s contract with Chiefs running up to May 31 next year. NAB ruled that the player belonged to Chiefs and that Rollers knew it could only enter into a contract with the player if they had been allowed to talk to him and his release approved by Chiefs.
“When they (Rollers) wrote on June 10 2013 seeking approval, they knew that they had on the same day already signed a contract with the player,” the NAB judgment reads.
The Appeals Board was also surprised by the fact the BPL office could have two contracts registered in respect of one player by two teams for the same or overlapping periods.
“Had the checklist process been undertaken, it would have been obvious that the player in question was registered with Chiefs which had not authorised his transfer to any local team,” the NAB ruling stated. Rollers on the other hand meet today to map the way forward over the ruling according to the club’s secretary, Khumo Masonya who declined to comment further on the matter.
In its judgment, the NAB wondered why no decision was taken when the matter was initially referred to the Players’ Status Committee (PSC) last year. NAB also ruled the player was not an amateur as was ruled by the PSC as “the contract between the two parties has not been terminated and it was not suggested in evidence that the player had resigned from the appellant (Chiefs).”
The NAB judgment further stated that only Chiefs could initiate and conclude the release of Moyana from Polokwane City and approve his transfer to another team, whether the player is an amateur or professional.
“Because we find that his contract ought not to have been set aside by the Players’ Status Committee, the player falls in the latter category (professional).” The Botswana Premier League (BPL) first referred the matter of the player’s status to the PSC in June 2013 before he went to South Africa.
It was again referred to the PSC in September this year after his return.
The reason for the referral last year was that the player had allegedly signed contracts with both Rollers and Chiefs. Moyana has been the subject of a boardroom wrangle between Chiefs and Township Rollers following his return from South African Premiership side, Polokwane City.
The player was on a season-long loan from Chiefs last season and played alongside his Zebras teammate, Modiri Marumo.
He is said to have signed a contract with Chiefs on June 7 last year, which was to expire on May 31 next year. He also signed another contract with Rollers three days later, which was to terminate in 2016.
Chiefs had argued that Rollers wrote to them on June 10 last year seeking permission to speak to the player and no permission was given. It was the same day that he signed another contract with Rollers and requested Chiefs to provide him with the copy of his contract.
Chiefs responded by reminding him that he had signed a contract with them. A few days later, Chiefs entered into an understanding with Polokwane City for his loan deal.
The deal expired at the end of last season and upon his return this year, he asked Chiefs to furnish him with the contract he entered with them before his loan period.
Rollers apparently wrote to Chiefs on August 18 this year requesting for permission to talk to the player for a possible transfer. Chiefs made it clear they had no intention of releasing the player. On the same day, the player requested Chiefs to release his registration book since he wanted to join Rollers. Rollers then requested the PSC to make a pronouncement on the status of the player, which ruled that the player was an amateur and had no contract with any of the two teams.
PSC also ruled that Chiefs sat on their right to recall the player from Polokwane City when his loan spell ended. PSC had ruled that the contract between Moyana and Chiefs was invalid since the said contract made no provision for salary. However NAB overruled the decision based on the fact that the portion of the salary was not specified since the player was not going to be earning a salary from Chiefs but from Polokwane City.
Winger, Galagwe Moyana will re-unite with his former teammates at Mochudi Centre Chiefs following the National Appeals Board ruling