Satmos win appeal over Rudzivo
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Thursday April 16, 2015 18:00
This is, after the Selebi Phikwe-based Satmos FC lodged an appeal on him to the Botswana Football Association (BFA) Disciplinary Committee.
The Zimbabwean-born striker, who is an integral part of the giant-slaying team from Maun, is their leading goal scorer with 11 goals.
The BFA DC on Tuesday docked Sankoyo three points and two goals, overruling the Botswana Premier League (BPL) DC that had thrown out Satmos’ protest.
Satmos had protested that Rudzivo was not properly registered at the time when he played against them on January 24 this year.
They argued that due processes were not followed, specifically that at the time when he was registered, he did not have his International Transfer Certificate (ITC), which is one of the prerequisites for registering a foreign player.
His ITC is said to have arrived on January 23, a day before the second round match between the two sides. Satmos in their appeal argued that even though his ITC arrived before their game, he has never been registered even after that. The BFA DC on Tuesday ruled that indeed Rudzivo has never been properly registered and declared him a defaulter.
The decision saw Satmos move into position 12 from position 14 before their game against Police XI in Serowe yesterday. Sankoyo, on the other, hand will remain at position nine despite being docked points. They have the same number of points (32) as Motlakase Power Dynamos in position 10. Tuesday’s decision now means Sankoyo have lost six points this season over the use of defaulters. In February this year, they lost three points and two goals, which were awarded to Motlakase Power Dynamos over the use of Shelton Sibanda. Motlakase had also protested that due processes were not followed when Sibanda was registered and therefore was a defaulter. The BPL DC ruled in their (Motlakase) favour. Sankoyo spokesperson, Thato Molosi said yesterday they will sit down as management of the club and map the way forward. He said at the moment he could not say what decision they would make since they are yet to meet. Satmos chairperson, Monnakgotla Mojaki, on the other hand, said he is happy that justice has been done. He said they have always believed that they had a strong case and are happy that the rule of law applied. “We also had a player that we wanted to register, but we did not manage because his ITC arrived after the transfer window closed,” he said.