The Safa Disciplinary Committee (DC) dismissed a case by Croesus Ladies in which FC Raycon Ladies was accused of fielding ineligible players in some of the Gauteng Sasol Women’s League games.
The DC ruling paves the way for Raycon, from Stream B, to face the winners of Stream A, Mita Ladies, in playoff games to decide the side that will progress to the biggest stage of women’s football in the country, the Hollywoodbets Super League.
Delivering his virtual judgment, Advocate Olebile Makompo, dismissed the case and said the complainant had failed to supply sufficient evidence to prove a prima facie case.
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“Before the committee, there is no prima facie evidence to rule in favour of the complainant, but only bare allegations without sufficient evidence to establish a fact or case unless contradictory evidence is presented.
“The complainant failed to prove the case on the balance of probabilities and the complainant failed to exercise its right to subpoena witnesses to prove its allegations. With that in mind, the complainant failed to make a case for the relief sought and therefore, the complaint is dismissed,” Makompo said.
The Greek Queens’, as Croesus Ladies are affectionately known, team manager, Maria Athanassouli, said they were disappointed with the outcome as the DC took no account of evidence supplied or even the rules of the game.
Athanassouli said such disregard for evidence and rules of the game destroys women’s football rather than advance it and ‘we reserve our options’.
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The Greek Queens had filed the complaint with Safa after Raycon was said to have fielded ineligible players in the crucial and final game of the league.
The complaint opened a can of worms as Raycon was accused of fielding ineligible players, not just in the match in question, but others as well, such as the Raycon versus Zebra Force match on April 14, and the first-round league match against Croesus on May 11.
The players in question were Loretah Ncube, Lizneth Nkomo, and Dinah Banda, whom Croesus claims are illegitimately registered, and were used in various matches this season, and also named in various matchday squads.
Ncube is said to be a Zimbabwean immigrant without a valid work permit. This was discovered on July 14, as she was about to be used as a substitute in the Croesus–Raycon drawn match, which marked the end of the season.
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