Black Leopards will accept CAS decision and avoid disrupting season, says Thidiela

Black Leopards chairman Chief Thidiela says the club will accept the outcome of its Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal, regardless of whether the ruling goes in its favour.

Lidoda Duvha have not played since being relegated from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the amateur ABC Motsepe League last season.

The club has now been officially excluded by SAFA Limpopo from the ABC Motsepe League 2026/2027 campaign while its legal challenge continues.

Black Leopards are disputing the relegation, claiming the Premier Soccer League acted unlawfully by demoting them after withholding their players’ registration cards, but before FIFA had formally issued its ban.

The club has referred the matter to CAS, but Thidiela says it chose not to seek an interdict that could have affected the start of the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

“We asked to focus on our case and not disrupt football. We are football people, and that is why we did not seek an interdict and allowed the Motsepe Foundation Championship to begin,” Thidiela tells KickOff.

The chairman said the club would remain committed to resolving the dispute through the appropriate process rather than interrupting domestic football.

“We may be fighting for our rights, but at the end of the day, we are football people. We do not want to disrupt the football process, even though we still believe we have a strong case.

“We want to resolve our case before resuming football. If it is resolved only in the middle of the season, we will let the season proceed without us. Even if our case is resolved before the season ends, we will sit out this campaign.”

Thidiela added that Black Leopards would not attempt to return to action during the current campaign, even if the CAS decision came before the season had concluded.

The club’s position means it will remain outside the competition while the appeal is considered, with the chairman stressing that the decision will be respected.

“We will not disrupt football. If the ruling goes against us, we will accept relegation; if we win, we will accept that outcome as well.”