The silence of the PSL: Stakeholders await response to 'dictator' claims

PSL stakeholders continue to await the league's and chairman's, Irvin Khoza, response to the explosive allegations levelled by Black Leopards FC owner David Thidiela.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Thidiela rocked South African football and painted the Premier PSL leadership as a structure rooted in coercion and autocracy.

At the core of the controversy is Thidiela’s branding of PSL chairman, Khoza as a dictator who runs the league with an iron fist and wields excessive power.

The allegations came to light during a candid radio interview, where Thidiela did not hold back in expressing his discontent over Khoza’s dual role as chairman of both the PSL and Orlando Pirates. “You’ll never see this anywhere in the world. Is there any organisation in the world where someone who is the owner of a team is running the league? So why here?” Thidiela argued, highlighting the blatant conflict of interest.

Khoza, who has held the position of PSL chairman for an astonishing 23 years, has faced mounting criticism from Thidiela over this unique arrangement. “I have served under many chairmen in the Premier League, and I have never encountered a chairman with such power in this country,” Thidiela remarked. He added for emphasis, “He’s got more power than Cyril Ramaphosa,” referring to the President of South Africa.

Thidiela’s criticisms extend beyond mere dissatisfaction; he described the current state of affairs as a coercive environment where dissent is not tolerated.

“It’s either you toe the line, or you are out. I am among the people who must be out of this league. This league, it’s either you say yes to Irvin, or you are out, and I’m not going to allow that,” he stated emphatically, putting himself forward as a symbol of the resistance.

The controversy deepens as Thidiela also questions the long-standing tenure of Mato Madlala, chairlady of Golden Arrows, who has served as the PSL’s acting Chief Executive Officer for the past decade.

Frustrated by what he perceives as a lack of recourse within the football fraternity, Thidiela has urged South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie to intervene and effect change, citing concerns about transparency and fairness in the league’s leadership structure.

This plea for intervention follows a previously dashed hope for collaborative change. Reflecting on a meeting organised last year by Deputy President Paul Mashatile between himself and Khoza, Thidiela shared that subsequent discussions with then Minister of Sport Zizi Kodwa went nowhere.

As of this writing, the PSL, and Chairman Khoza specifically, have not responded to requests for comment on Thidiela’s incisive allegations, leaving fans and stakeholders to ponder the implications of these accusations for the league’s future.