The drama continues to unfold in the Free State ABC Motsepe League as Bloemfontein Celtic are not giving up on their pursuit of a return to the PSL.
This comes after Free State ABC Motsepe League provincial playoffs between Mangaung Unite and D’General FC have been put on hold as Celtic took the matter to court [appeal] following last week’s ruling.
Just five days ago, D’General FC won a case against them in the SAFA Free State ABC Motsepe League. The two sides were competing in the provincial league’s Stream A.
As previously reported by FARPost, the case was about a protest of players not having smart cards/IDs when the side played against Dikgosi FC. Siwelele were initially declared the SAFA Free State Stream A winners following their 2-2 draw with BFN Young Tigers at home on Wednesday, 20 March 2024.
With Celtic having topped Stream A with 38 points, just a point ahead of second-placed D’General, Siwelele were supposed to take on Stream B winners Mangaung United in the provincial playoffs on Sunday, 28 April 2024. But the playoffs were postponed due to the pending case.
Once again the playoffs are called off after D’General won the case. The side was supposed to face Mangaung in the provincial playoffs on Sunday, 19 May 2024.
WHAT’S THE LATEST ON BLOEMFONTEIN CELTIC CASE?
Celtic have decided to appeal the ruling made by the arbitrator last week, favouring D’General.
As a result, the Celtic court case against SAFA Free State as the 1st Respondent, SAFA as 2nd Respondent, D’GENERAL as 3rd Respondent and Dikgosi FC as 4th Respondent has been postponed to Tuesday, 21 May 2024.
Siwelele hopes that the arbitration outcome will favour them this time and take part in the provincial playoffs, as this is part of their pursuit of returning to the SA’s elite league.
The winner of the provincial playoffs match will represent Free State at the upcoming ABC Motsepe League national playoffs set to be held in the Northern Cape next month.
FIVE ALREADY BOOKED THEIR FOR ABC MOTSEPE LEAGUE NATIONAL PLAYOFFS
So far, there are only five clubs that have already booked their tickets to the 2024 ABC Motsepe League national playoffs.
The five are Thames FC [North West], FN Rangers [Western Cape], Dondol Stars [Gauteng], Njampela FC [KwaZulu-Natal], and Kruger United [Mpumalanga].
Meanwhile, winners are still undecided in Limpopo, Northern Cape, Free State, and Eastern Cape as the provincial playoffs are yet to take place.
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