A stunned Kaizer Chiefs were hit with a Premier League record fine of R500 000 — R350 000 to be paid immediately and R150 000 suspended — by an uncompromising PSL Disciplinary Committee on Wednesday night.
The penalty of shame — as one official described it — was the outcome of the Amakhosi supporter’s ongoing outbreak of violence during and immediately after the team’s 1-0 defeat in the first-leg MTN8 semifinal against Ajax Cape Town at Newlands Stadium on Saturday night.
Chiefs’ officials made no official comment after the decision and it remains to be seen whether an appeal will be made against the hefty fine — although it appeared the size of the fine had caught the PSL glamour club off-guard.
No mention was made of affecting the second-leg of the MTN8 semifinal that is due to be played at Orlando Stadium this weekend — although the magnitude of the fine is clearly designed to avoid a repeat of the shambles at Newlands Stadium when a succession of missiles were hurled onto the pitch on three separate occasions.
”Chiefs will have to win the MTN8 competition to pay their fine,” was the laconic comment of one observer while referring to the competition that has an R8-million winner-take-all prize.
And it was generally believed that the heavy fine was also motivated as a result of the effect the rumpus at Newlands might have on the impending World Cup in South Africa — with the Football Association of South Africa (Safa) and the PSL both condemning the incidents. — Sapa