Court dismisses Jerry Sikhosana’s bid to interdict ABC playoffs

The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday night dismissed Jerry Sikhosana’s application for an urgent interdict to halt the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League provincial playoffs. 

The urgent case was heard on the eve of today’s playoffs in Tsakane in Ekurhuleni. 

Judge Bester struck the case off the roll for lack of urgency as it did not meet the requirements for extremity. The High Court didn’t even go into the merits of the matter. 

Sikhosana’s Hollywood Thunder Football Club filed an urgent application arguing that African All-Stars fielded “ineligible players, fraudulently registered players, prohibited players or improperly registered players in a match which took place on 19 March 2022….” 

At the centre of the complaint is the All-Stars’ duo of Lekhanya Delemo and Austin Maluleke, who featured in an ABC Motsepe tie against Senaoane Gunners. 

Hollywood Thunder, whom former Orlando Pirates forward Sikhosana owns, claimed that Delemo was never correctly cleared to play for All-Stars when he re-joined them from Black Eagles.

In Maluleke’s case, the club claimed the information submitted for his registration with Safa “was invalid”.

The complaint was initially heard by the South African Football Association [Safa]. Still, it was dismissed on the premises of Rule 19.1 of the Safa Uniform Rules, which states that “any team, affiliate, official, player, staff member, or any other person or body in membership of Safa or its affiliates, inclusive of a club that has not lodged a protest in respect of a game in which it participated, may lodge a complaint with the League, in respect of any act of misconduct/offence allegedly committed.”

A few weeks ago, Thunder enjoyed a comfortable 10-point lead and looked set to secure a place in the playoffs. However, a poor run that saw them lose four games in a row allowed All-Stars to assume pole position. 

All-Stars won the provincial division [Stream A] and lock horns with MM Platinum, who won Stream B, over two legs. The first leg will be played at the Tsakane Stadium on Saturday. The winner, after both legs, will proceed to represent Gauteng in the national playoffs to secure a spot in the GladAfrica Championship.