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The matter will be heard by Safa’s arbitration rather than PSL DC because of its urgency, the league confirmed this week.
Bloemfontein Celtic has confirmed its arbitration date for the complaint filed against Mamelodi Sundowns more than a week ago.
Siwele is protesting Sundowns’ decision to name Tebogo Langerman to his team for the day of the Nedbank Cup final.
Langerman was suspended for the match at Orlando Stadium, where the Brazilians beat Celtic 1-0 to lift the trophy and completed a domestic treble.
In a short statement released on Saturday, Phunya Sele Sele said that the hearing will take place on September 25, 2020.
💚⚪️🚨Club statement🚨#LoveSiwelele💚✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/hG5kotPqtA
– Celtic from Bloemfontein (@Bloem_Celtic) September 19, 2020
According to Celtic, Langerman’s suspension only caught their attention during the game when Sundowns was about to introduce the veteran winger.
At the time, it appeared Sundowns also did not know that the 31-year-old was not supposed to be on the team of the day, as they quickly reversed their decision to introduce him when Celtic brought him to the attention of match officials.
The PSL rule book states that a protest must be submitted at least 30 minutes before kickoff, which means that if a team does not meet the deadline, such protest would be reduced to a complaint.
In what was a surprising move by the league, the Celtic issue was referred to arbitration by the South African Football Association (Safa) and not to the PSL Disciplinary Committee.
The reason PSL DC declined to handle the matter was due to urgency, and it will be heard at 10:00 next week on Friday.
It is unclear what result Safa’s arbitration will achieve depending on the arguments presented by the representatives of the two clubs.
Celtic is pushing for the Sundowns to be stripped of their Nedbank Cup championship and handed over to them on the grounds that they broke the rules.
While Langerman did not play a minute of the Nedbank Cup final last week, the rules are clear: being part of the team of the day, a player is considered part of the game.
But according to former PSL general manager Ace Ncobo, Celtic’s case is not too close and Sundowns could get away with a 100,000 rand fine at the end of it all.
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