A Johannesburg High Court ruled in favour of Cape Town football club Ajax’s reinstatement in the Absa Premiership and Premier Soccer League (PSL).
Monday’s ruling by Judge Denise Fisher means Ajax have effectively been restored to 15th position in the Absa Premiership, with Platinum Stars dropping to 16th.
Tendai Ndoro’s eligibility remains undetermined, however, and has been sent to the Fifa Players’ Status Committee for a final ruling.
The club’s standing was put in jeopardy after it was found guilty of illegally fielding Ndoro. Ndoro allegedly violated the rule of playing for more than two teams in one season by also playing for Orlando Pirates and Al Faisaly.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) have also responded‚ saying they are considering their position‚ with the executive committee of the organisation to decide whether to keep on fighting the issue with the scheduled start of the new season just four weeks way.
The judgement reverses Ajax’s relegation‚ for now‚ and makes the outcome of the recent Promotion/Relegation Play-Offs that saw Black Leopards elevated to the top-flight invalid‚ creating a significant headache for the League.
Judge Denise Fisher ruled that only FIFA can adjudicate on the matter of Ndoro’s eligibility‚ though the global governing body has twice before batted the issue back to the South African Football Association (SAFA) when approached.
The PSL said they were also studying the judgement before deciding on their next steps‚ with the executive committee‚ of which Ajax is a member‚ set to make a decision “in due course”.
The League now finds itself in a difficult position‚ potentially unable to replay the play-offs ahead of the new season‚ both because Leopards may challenge such an action in court‚ and because the squads of the affected teams‚ which also includes Jomo Cosmos‚ have changed significantly from July 1 when players were either released or moved to new clubs.
The other effects of the judgement are‚ as things stand‚ that AmaZulu are restored to the top half of the table and SuperSport United miss out on the MTN8 for the first time in their history.
Advocate Mokhari has stripped Ajax of points gained in the wins over Platinum Stars and SuperSport‚ as well as a draw with Polokwane City.
