beMobile Premier League log leaders, Mochudi Centre Chiefs have found themselves in the middle of a storm for allegedly using a defaulter during their Saturday encounter with relegation fighting Letlapeng FC. Centre Chiefs beat the Ramotswa based outfit 3 ÔÇô 1 during the contested match to move seven points clear of fellow title rivals Township Rollers. Centre Chiefs have since confirmed that a protest has been lodged against them for using a defaulter. “For the record, Letlapeng FC played yesterday’s game under protest claiming that MCC used a suspended player. We therefore await official documents from the relevant authorities with regard to their claim,” so reads an official statement from the team’s official facebook page.
While the name of the concerned player had not been mentioned in the Centre Chiefs facebook page, a little investigation has revealed that the player under scrutiny is none other than influential club captain Pontsho Moloi. In their protest, it is said that Letlapeng had alleged that the influential midfielder was not eligible to play against them as he had accumulated three yellow cards. According to sources, the player had earned three yellow cards so far this season and this therefore qualifies him to ‘automatically miss a game’ as per the Botswana Football Association (BFA)’s Play Rules and Regulations as amended in 2014. “A player shall be automatically suspended for the next BFA official game for an aggregate of three (3) yellow cards that he receives in three (games) throughout the season, in exception of those described under 3.2 above,” the article reads.
According to the sources, the first of the three yellow cards for Moloi came in Centre Chiefs encounter with Gaborone United on the 12th of December last year. The player is said to have then received his second yellow in the game against Rollers while the third one came during Chiefs’ encounter with Sankoyo Bush Bucks. Should the Mochudi based outfit be found guilty of using a defaulter, they stand to lose a valuable three points and two goals to Letlapeng as per article 6.2.1 of the BFA Play Rules and Regulations.
