Ajax Cape Town and their striker Tendai Ndoro will know their fate on Wednesday, which is when the South African Football Association arbitration process is expected to determine Ndoro’s eligibility to feature for the Cape side.
Ajax have fielded Ndoro six times — five in league matches and once in the Nedbank Cup — despite the Zimbabwean having played for three clubs this season, which is in contravention of FIFA rules.
South African PSL legal adviser Michael Murphy told City Press the matter was likely to be decided this week.
“We were given three names to choose (an arbitrator) from and two of them were available on the 21st. Because of the urgency of this matter, we chose one of them. We are not yet sure which one will preside over the case,” he said.
Orlando Pirates and Polokwane City recently played their league matches under protest against Ajax.
In its sitting last week to hear the legal arguments from the three parties (Pirates, City and Ajax) on a preliminary point of law, the PSL disciplinary committee “directed the parties to file short heads of argument dealing primarily with the jurisdiction of the DC (disciplinary committee) to entertain the protests within seven days”.
The two clubs had lodged a formal protest against the inclusion by Ajax of Ndoro in their line-up during their Absa Premiership fixtures. This was after the league’s dispute resolution chambers cleared him to play.
Ndoro played a game for Pirates in August‚ then transferred and played for Al Faisaly in Saudi Arabia before signing for Ajax in December.
According to the FIFA regulations, rule 5.3 states that a player is allowed to register with three clubs in one season, but only play official matches for two of those clubs. Ajax face the risk of being docked points if they are found guilty of contravening the FIFA rules. Wednesday could well be the day as the arbitrator’s decision is final. — City Press.
