Royal AM must give up on their fight to be reinstated in the PSL ... they've done more harm than good

COMMENT

The tug-of-war between the PSL and Royal AM appears far from over — but the league may have made the right call by expelling the club earlier this year.

This week, Pretoria High Court Judge Boitsheko Seleka reserved judgment on Royal AM’s bid to be reinstated in the PSL. ‘Thwihli Thwahla’ turned to the High Court after being expelled from the league for bringing it into disrepute.

SARS placed the club under curatorship earlier this year in an effort to recover R40 million in unpaid taxes owed by club president Shaun Mkhize. However, after SARS failed to secure a buyer for the club, the PSL removed it from the league — finishing the season with just 15 teams.

In court papers, Mkhize contends that the family had relinquished ownership by the time the club entered curatorship, transferring directorship to a certain Shamis Sadab. According to her, this meant the club could not be used to recover her personal tax debts.

However, PSL legal representative Michael Murphy argued that Mkhize never informed the league of this change in ownership. Therefore, the league acted within their rights when the Board of Governors (BoG) voted to expel the club in April.

Mkhize also claimed that Royal AM were not permitted to attend the BoG meeting — a point rendered moot by the fact that, had they appeared, they would have been asked to leave due to the nature of the proceedings.

Attempts by Independent Media to reach Murphy for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.

If the league can prove to Judge Seleka that the club was still under Mkhize’s consortium at the time of curatorship, a verdict in their favour seems likely.

Royal AM's administrative chaos has dented the PSL’s image, which their leadership, under chairman Irvin Khoza, have spent decades building. This isn’t the first time the club has courted controversy — from failing to appear for promotion/relegation play-offs to buying their way into the top flight.

Their mismanagement also threatened vital commercial partnerships, with sponsors like Betway and Nedbank likely displeased that the season concluded with an odd number of teams. Khoza has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining strong relationships with sponsors, who are the league’s financial backbone.

That’s why the league could not allow a “rotten potato” to spoil the entire bag — especially when livelihoods, reputations and operations are on the line.

In hindsight, the PSL may regret not doing more to protect Royal AM’s players, coaches and staff, many of whom were left unpaid and jobless from late last year. However, by finally taking decisive action, the league sent a message — mismanagement will no longer be tolerated.

Royal AM have previously been sanctioned by Fifa with transfer bans over unpaid wages to former players Samir Nurkovic and Ricardo Nascimento. Those sanctions made selling the club even more difficult, as any new owner would inherit their debts and legal obligations.

That Mkhize is still fighting to have the club reinstated is astonishing, given her repeated failure to demonstrate the ability to run a professional football outfit. Her legal battles are also mounting — just this week, the DA in KwaZulu-Natal won a court case to strip Royal AM of a R27 million sponsorship from the Msunduzi Municipality.

“Following relentless pressure from the DA, the Msunduzi Municipality resolved to terminate the controversial Royal AM sponsorship contract,” the party said in a statement on social media.

Reports have now emerged that Mkhize is considering purchasing eSwatini side Mbabane Highlanders — and one can’t help but sympathise with that league if she succeeds.

Ambition is valuable in football ownership, but only when paired with sound leadership and professionalism. Unfortunately for Mkhize, she has shown little evidence of either.