Black Leopards' chairman, Mr David Thidiela, has been banned for a year and fined R1million for bringing the Premier Soccer League into disrepute.
The penalties relate to an incident that took place after the Absa Premiership League game between Black Leopards and Bloemfontein Celtic at the Thohoyandou Stadium last year on Saturday, 15 September. Lidoda Duvha lost the match 0-1.
The league's disciplinary committee found that Mr Thidiela had threatened the referee, Mr Victor Hlungwani, after the game, saying he should not come back to the Thohoyandou Stadium and that he would be there at his own risk. Apart from the public apology he made after the incident, Thidiela also apologized to Mr Hlungwani.
Mr Thidiela was subsequently suspended from the PSL Executive Committee, pending the finalization of the investigations that led to his being charged for misconduct.
Unfortunately for Thidiela, his apology was not good enough to spare him from facing the harsh sanction. When we approached Mr Thidiela for comment regarding the judgement of the disciplinary committee, he confirmed that he had received the information from the committee regarding the matter.
He refused to comment further, saying he could only do so after meeting with his team of legal advisors.
Black Leopards' performance improved dramatically after the appointment of the team's new head coach, Mr Dylan Kerr, about two months ago. The Thohoyandou outfit are currently lying in the 12th position on the log with 20 points. (The result of Wednesday evening's match against Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria is not included.)
Leopards' next league match will on 23 February against Highlands Park at the Thohoyandou Stadium.