OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 12.45pm.
THE richest national football competition in Africa has been reduced to a farce this year by a series of off-the-field events.
When Free State Stars defeated Jomo Cosmos 3-0 on aggregate in the League Cup quarter-finals they could hardly have imagined what drama would follow.
Cosmos claimed Stars fielded a player who was ineligible because he had not served an automatic two-match suspension for receiving four cautions and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) overturned the result. Stars successfully appealed to the South Africa Football Association (Safa) and were declared winners again only for the league to call in a arbitrator, who backed the Safa verdict.
As Durban-based Manning Rangers kicked their heels wondering who their semi-finals opponents would be, Cosmos went back to the PSL and were restored to an event carrying a R1-million first prize.
Stars responded with another appeal to the national association again, and won once more only for the league to intervene on Wednesday and demand a further round of arbitration.
The PSL had ordered the first leg of the semi-final to go ahead last Sunday and Rangers won 2-1 at Cosmos. However, the result will not count if the arbitrator supports Stars.
Free State are furious that league chief executive Joe Ndhlela has publicly backed Cosmos in a saga that has filled more newspaper space than action on the field.
Rangers coach Gordon Igesund says the only winners in the debacle are Brazil, England, Germany and Morocco, who are challenging South Africa for the right to stage the 2006 World Cup.
“We want to host a competition involving 32 countries, yet we are unable to successfully stage a knockout competition with 18 clubs,” he told the Durban Mercury. Sundowns qualified for the December 11 final with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Orlando Pirates. Holders Kaizer Chiefs were shock first-round losers to Cape club Hellenic. — AFP