Counterfeit ticket case moves at snail�s pace
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Friday June 16, 2017 15:47
Some people were caught selling duplicate tickets during the Rollers and Chiefs encounter in April.
Upon questioning, the culprits reportedly revealed that they got tickets from someone from the Premier League. At that time, Rollers revealed they had always suspected that something was not in order regarding the selling of tickets. They said they were at times surprised that they would find that their matches attracted large crowds only for the proceeds not to match the attendance.
However up to now, there has not been any major breakthrough into the matter. Club spokesperson, Bafana Pheto said they are still waiting for the police investigations to conclude. He also revealed they requested the BPL to give them a green-light so that they carry-out their own investigations, but they have not received any response. “We are still waiting for their response since we wrote to them last month,” he said.
Rollers were also dealt another blow after the game when the vehicle carrying the proceeds from the match was robbed at Commerce Park with about P200,000 stolen as well as some tickets. The suspects have since appeared before court on several occasions.
Acting BPL chief executive officer, Thabo Ntshinogang said the letter was addressed to the mother body and not his office. “They wrote to the BFA and copied to us therefore we could not respond to their request from this side,” he said. Ntshinogang also stated that the BPL is also awaiting the conclusion of the investigations by the Botswana Police on the matter.
Meanwhile, Rollers believe the rule regarding the quota of registered players is not serving the best interest of football in the country. Premier League sides are forced to register only 25 players for the season.
They are only allowed to register five more players if those players are under the age of 17. The rule currently differs with that of the CAF competitions, which allows participating clubs to submit 30 names regardless of their age. Rollers and Jwaneng Galaxy are set to represent the country in the Champions League and the Confederations Cup respectively.
Both Rollers and Orapa United, who competed last season in CAF competitions, felt the rule disadvantaged them when they competed in Africa.
Their argument was that if they sign five more players over the age of 17 and register them for CAF competitions, they will not be able to use them for Premier League competitions thus paying them salaries for the entire season.
“To be honest, we are to blame as local football people regarding such rules. Our belief is that the general assembly should take decisions that are in the best interest of our football because it is the discretion of a particular association of the country to make such rules,” Pheto said.