The Botswana Premier League Disciplinary Committee has absolved Sankoyo Bush Bucks of using a defaulter in their encounter with FC Satmos. The judgment follows a case in which FC Satmos had lodged a complaint against Sankoyo for using a defaulter as well as not having followed the right processes in their registration of star striker Morris Ruzivo.
Delivering a judgment on the matter, the Disciplinary Committee ruled that there is no evidence to suggest that the Maun based outfit had erred in their use of the player when the two sides met on January 24th earlier this year. Satmos lost the game 2 ÔÇô 1 against ‘Ngurungu,’ as FC Satmos is affectionately known.
In their submission to the BPL DC, Satmos had also argued that Ruzivo had played in the league well before his International Transfer Certificate had arrived. Another flash point for FC Satmos was that the player had received his playing licence even before his ITC arrived, which was a day before their match-up. The Selebi Phikwe outfit had argued that this contravened the playing rules as per article 20.20 of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) play rules and regulations.
In their ruling, the DC argued that Satmos failed to demonstrate that Ruzivo was a defaulter. After some careful analysis of the playing rules and regulations, the BPL DC concluded that article 20.20, as stipulated by FC Satmos in their argument, cannot be used in relation to the said case. The BPL DC argued that a player is deemed to be a defaulter if circumstances stipulated under article 6 are contravened.
“Sub regulation 20.22 does not say if a player is registered without strict compliance to it, then such a player is a defaulter. The sub regulation does not even create a penalty for its violation or failure by a club to follow its requirements to the letter,” the judgement reads.
The ruling comes as a relief to Sankoyo, who have already fallen foul to the same offence earlier in the season. The Maun based outfit was docked 3 points following their use of Zimbabwean player, Shelton Sibanda during their game against Motlakase Power Dynamos. At the time, Sankoyo had admitted to having used a defaulter.
