The SAB League provincial promotional playoff matches, which took place at the Nkowankowa Stadium in Tzaneen over the past weekend, ended in chaos.
The first game, between Mukula Young Santos and the hosts, Nkowankowa Continentals FC, was played to the finish, with Young Santos beaten 0-1.
The second match was between Sekhukhune's champions, Kingborn FC, and the representatives of the Capricorn Region, Lebash FC. The situation took a dramatic turn when two teams from the Capricorn Region, Lebash FC and Lehlabile United, entered the field of play. According to the provincial coordinator of the league, Ms Refiloe Khoza, the Capricorn Regional League had confirmed with them two days before the tournament that the arbitrator had ruled in favour of Lebash FC.
The organisers then instructed the players of Lehlabile to leave the pitch as they were deemed ineligible to play, based on the information received from the Capricorn Regional League last Thursday (27th). However, instead of leaving the field, the officials from Lehlabile then produced a copy of the arbitration award. According to Ms Khoza, the information on the document shown by Lehlabile was contrary to what they had received from the Capricorn Regional League.
According to the document, the arbitrator's ruling was in favour of Lehlabile and not Lebash, as confirmed by the Capricorn Region. The organisers then requested Lehlabile to go back and resolve the matter with their regional league, advice that the club refused to take. Consequently, the match could not be played as the two teams remained on the field of play throughout the allotted time for the game.
A team from Capricorn was supposed to play their second match against Mukula Young Santos, starting at 14:00. However, this match could not be played as both Lebash and Lehlabile were on the field of play 10 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time. Young Santos did play their second game on Sunday morning but lost 0-2 to Sunrise FC.
The remaining matches that were supposed to be played on Sunday were not played as Lehlabile had decided to invade the pitch to disrupt those games. According to Ms. Khoza, the organisers will take a decision on the way forward after they receive a report from the Capricorn Regional League regarding the dispute between Lebash and Lehlabile. The Capricorn Regional League was still to submit a report at the time of our going to press.