Nato saga drags as Chiefs lodge protest
Koketso Kgoboge | Tuesday March 15, 2016 13:56
Chiefs argue both Nato and Mandaza were improperly registered.
Magosi and Gilport Lions previously lost their cases after protesting Nato’s registration. Magosi have now dragged the Mandaza registration into the saga.
Both players played a part in the Rollers' weekend win against Chiefs.
Nato played until late in the second half and was replaced by Edwin Moalosi, while Mandaza came in as a second half substitute for Gofaone Tiro. Township Rollers were given the green light to use Nato after he was cleared last week.
In the first leg of the semi final against Rollers, Chiefs launched a similar protest after they lost 3-1. The protest was dismissed by the Botswana Premiership League (BPL) Disciplinary Committee (DC) on technicalities after it was found that Chiefs did not follow proper channels when launching the protest.
However, over the weekend the Kgatleng side followed the right procedure and launched a protest with the match officials before the game.
Chiefs’ spokesperson, Clifford Mogomotsi said they still contend Nato and Mandaza were improperly registered.
“We still feel Nato and Mandaza are defaulters and therefore are not eligible to play.
We protested the Nato case and we were dismissed on technicalities because some officials misrepresented the Premiership but we have appealed on that, and the same appeal still stands despite this new case,” he said.
“In the first case they (DC) only heard the Gilport Lions side of the story but our side was not heard. Our case is very straightforward and the merits of our case are different from those of Gilport Lions.
“Now we are happy our story will be heard because this time we have followed everything to the latter.
We are preparing our heads of argument for the association and we will submit them this week,” Mogomotsi added.
BPL chief executive officer, Bennett Mamelodi confirmed the developments and said the Chiefs protest will be treated with the usual respect. “The game was played under protest and it will be considered like any other protest,” he said.