SEDIBENG. – A court battle is looming between Safa Sedibeng and Young Pirates over the replayed match between SUBS and Perfect Academy last weekend.

Sedibeng Ster Sport can confirm that the club has since taken the matter to arbitration after the Safa Sedibeng Disciplinary Committee (DC) ordered the Safa Sedibeng Hollywood Regional League match between SUBS and Perfect Academy be replayed with Academy beating their opponents 6-0 at the NWU Vaal grounds on Sunday.

Young Pirates FC took the matter to arbitration after the ruling of the DC that ordered that this game be replayed. To date, the original game between SUBS and Perfect Academy ended in a 1-all draw at Qedilizwe grounds on May 4. It is the same game where a match official was attacked by the supporters after the game.

However, the replay of this match had nothing to do with this incident. The match was replayed following the outcome of the DC after SUBS was found guilty of fielding improperly registered players on the day. This was also confirmed to Sedibeng Ster Sport by the club coach, Petros Molahloe. However, Molahloe also confirmed to Sedibeng Ster Sport that no protest was lodged on the day of the match by Perfect Academy.

He told Sedibeng Ster Sport that his club only received a complaint letter from the league to appear before the DC.

Sedibeng Ster Sport has been told that Perfect Academy didn’t lodge a protest but wrote a complaint letter to the league that accused SUBS of fielding defaulters. This is the reason why Young Pirates FC took the matter to arbitration, feeling that the game was not supposed to be replayed according to article 19 of Safa rules.

This was also confirmed to Sedibeng Ster Sport by Molahloe, who told Sedibeng Ster Sport that his club only received a complaint letter from the league to appear before DC.

According to SAFA rules the protest is supposed to be lodged before the game or before the end of the game. Speaking to Sedibeng Ster Sport, Young Pirates FC Chairman, Musa Wambi, said that the issue is not Perfect Academy but the interpretations of the rules.

“It is not as if we are fighting Perfect Academy, but we are challenging the outcome of the DC, to order this match to be replayed. We are aware that there has never been a protest lodge and the game played to an end. We were surprised when we learned that this game was going to be replayed and we decided to take the matter up with arbitration.”

The teams are first and second on the log standings in the Stream A, and the outcome of the arbitration might decide the winner in this stream.

Sedibeng Ster will follow the development of this matter.