Cas finally announces verdict on Royal AM case

The protracted legal battle between Royal AM, Sekhukhune United and the Premier Soccer League has come to an end after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) finally ruled on the matter.

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The battle started in May 2021 when the arbitrator awarded three points to Sekhukhune in a dispute involving Polokwane City who failed to field the required amount of Under-23 players in the GladAfrica Championship played in January, which Polokwane won 1-0.

The arbitrator award, which gave Sekhukhune automatic promotion, was overturning a previous Premier Soccer League (PSL) disciplinary committee ruling, which deducted three points from Polokwane, but did not award these points to Sekhukhune.

Royal AM then took the matter to courts, but did not get the relief they were seeking and eventually approached Cas in September 2021. While waiting for the Cas ruling, Royal AM bought the top flight status of Bloemfontein Celtic.

Cas on Wednesday, finally announced their long-awaited verdict.

The ruling states that:

1. Cas has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal filed by Royal AM Football Club on 7 September 2021.

2. The costs of the arbitration, to be determined and served to the parties by the CAS Court Office, shall be borne by Royal AM Football Club.

3. Royal AM Football Club shall pay to the National Soccer League and Sekhukhune United FC a contribution of CHF 4,000 (four thousand Swiss Francs) each towards the legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with the present arbitration procedure. All other Parties shall bear their own expenses.