Protests pile as Rollers stretch lead
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Tuesday April 5, 2016 13:08
Gilport Lions kicked off the chain of protests when they challenged Ofentse Nato’s eligibility to play for Rollers before Centre Chiefs followed.
FC Satmos also played their game against Rollers under protest citing Terrence Mandaza’s registration as improper. Both Chiefs’ protests have been dismissed as well as Gilport Lions. Chiefs are, however, expected to appeal the Friday ruling in which they wanted the BPL disciplinary committee (DC) to declare both Mandaza and Nato as defaulters. Their argument was that Rollers have exceeded the required number of players registered with the BPL. Their submission was that both Nato and Mandaza should not have been registered since Rollers had already reached their quota. The DC, however, dismissed the protest after finding out that all Premier League sides have not complied with the rule.
They ruled that Chiefs cannot be granted the relief they sort since they had also failed to comply with that rule. Both Mandaza and Nato played against Miscellaneous on Saturday and the hosts reportedly filed a protest. Rollers countered and also played under protest. The BPL DC is expected to have a busy schedule with more protests expected in the remaining matches.
Despite the protests, Rollers stretched their lead at the summit of the league table with a comfortable 5-0 win over Miscellaneous. They have now accumulated 60 points with four games remaining and opened a four-point gap at the top. Their victory came a day after Chiefs had temporarily cut the lead to one point on Friday night. Chiefs beat Green Lovers 2-1 through Ayanda Molefe’s brace. The two giants will now meet for the fourth time this season nextSaturday. Orapa United’s pursuit was dented on Sunday when they played to a 0-0 draw against Police XI.
They have dropped to position three with the same number of points as second-placed Chiefs. BDF XI retained their fourth position despite dropping two points against Extension Gunners on Friday night.
Meanwhile, FC Satmos’ stay in the Premier League came to an end following their 6-0 loss to Jwaneng Galaxy. Motlakase Power Dynamos improved their survival chances with a win over Sankoyo, but remain in position 14. They have closed the gap between then and Green Lovers to just a point.