Marumo Gallants president hits back at ‘status buying’ criticism
Marumo Gallants FC president Abram Sello has responded to criticism of buying a top-flight status after purchasing the status of DStv Premiership side Maroka Swallows.
Sello received a big backlash from football pundits and supporters after making a return to the Premiership by purchasing the status of a PSL team.
Gallants failed to gain promotion from the Motsepe Foundation Championship after finishing 11th on the log standings in the previous campaign.
The Limpopo-based side was relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2022/23 season after finishing 16th on the league table. In their first season in the NFD, Gallants won nine matches in the league, drew nine and lost 12 times in 30 games.
Interestingly, this is the second time that Abram Sello has bought a status after purchasing Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila [TTM] in 2021.
Hardly three years since buying the TTM status, Gallants bought the cash-strapped Swallows, with the PSL approving the deal two weeks ago.
WHAT DID ABRAM SELLO SAY ABOUT BUYING STATUS?
During the Gallants media briefing in Sandton on Tuesday, Sello said the decision to buy a status instead of fighting for promotion on the field of play is legal.
“Why do we buy the status instead of working hard? It’s a very ugly question and easy to answer. Football has got rules, PSL has got rules, there is no way you can cross the bridge without following those laws and rules,” Sello said.
“You work hard to get promoted. By the way, congratulations to my home boys, Magesi FC, on their automatic promotion. So why do we go for the status commercially? It’s because it’s within the rules, and I’m not gonna be able to talk on behalf of the league and say, ‘This is what is happening’. Buying status is allowed and it’s legal.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen such things, and it’s not the first time it’s happened with Marumo Gallants. Previously, Thanda Royal Zulu was in this situation, so in all 16 PSL teams, there’s always a willing seller and a willing buyer.
“So I’ll leave it like that; we did it with TTM before; it’s nothing strange, but you just have to follow the rules and all those kinds of things.”
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