Black Leopards reject ABC Motsepe League place as relegation dispute goes to CAS

Black Leopards chairperson David Thidiela says the club will not play in the ABC Motsepe League while it continues its legal challenge against relegation from the professional ranks.

Speaking to the media in Johannesburg on Thursday, Thidiela claimed the club had been treated unfairly after the Premier Soccer League withheld registration cards for new players at the beginning of last season. He argued that the decision was made prematurely because Black Leopards had not been subject to a Fifa transfer ban.

Black Leopards were subsequently relegated from the Motsepe Foundation Championship. Their request through Safa arbitration for their opening four fixtures to be replayed was later dismissed.

“I was demoted two years ago unlawfully,” Thidiela said. “The question today is: who banned Leopards and for what?

“I’m not relegated and I’m not going to play in the ABC Motsepe League.

“The case is with CAS [the international Court of Arbitration for Sport] to decide it isn’t for the PSL to have decided already. Fifa said there is no ban for us.”

The dispute stems from Black Leopards’ purchase of All Stars’ league status in 2023. According to Thidiela, the club unknowingly inherited financial liabilities from that deal, which then led to the transfer ban being imposed.

At the start of the following season, the PSL refused to issue registration cards for Black Leopards’ new signings. The club were therefore forced to field a severely weakened squad during their first four matches.

Black Leopards later took their case to Safa arbitration. Advocate Hilton Epstein SC rejected their application for the fixtures to be replayed and instructed the club to pay the legal costs.

After that ruling, Thidiela referred the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in an attempt to overturn the relegation and retain Black Leopards’ professional status. The case remains unresolved.

Thidiela said the registration issue ended only after the club received a letter from Fifa on 30 September confirming that Black Leopards were not banned.

“[After that] the league gave me the [registration] cards the same day we received the letter on September 30 from Fifa. Before that, we wrote a letter to ask if we can register the young players from our academy and they [PSL legal] refused,” he said.

“And on September 30 they [Fifa] said Black Leopards are not banned immediately the same day when I got a letter from Fifa, the league called us to say come and collect the cards.

“The ban was over after we played four games.”

Thidiela maintains that the club should not have been relegated and insists Black Leopards will not accept a place in the ABC Motsepe League while the CAS proceedings continue. The dispute follows the club’s removal from the PSL structure and its subsequent relegation from the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

The matter has already gone through Safa’s arbitration process, but Thidiela is now relying on CAS to determine whether Black Leopards’ relegation should stand.