City still have no arbitration date on SportPesa matter‚ says Comitis

03 November 2017 - 10:57 By Nick Said‚ Cape Town
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Cape Town City owner John Comitis.
Cape Town City owner John Comitis.
Image: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

Cape Town City owner John Comitis says he is waiting on the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for a date for arbitration in the matter relating to the club’s sponsor‚ betting company SportPesa.

The league has no specific rules prohibiting sports betting companies as sponsors but its does require clubs to seek permission first‚ and Comitis did not do this before concluding the deal.

City have been wearing the SportPesa name on their jerseys since early August when the Cape club signed a four-year deal with the Bulgarian-based betting company.

That resulted in the PSL evoking its own Rule 9.16.

This gives the league the power “to suspend‚ fine‚ terminate the membership of or otherwise sanction or deal with any Member Club‚ Member Club Official‚ Player or individual … for infringing the NSL Handbook or for engaging in acts of misconduct‚ improper practices‚ acts of defiance‚ or for bringing the League into disrepute”.

The matter has was sent to arbitration by the PSL’s Board of Governors in mid-September‚ but Comitis said he had not yet been given a date for proceedings to begin.

“We decided to go straight to arbitration because in a disciplinary process there is the option to appeal anyway‚” Comitis told TimesLIVE.

“We would like to put this matter to bed as soon as possible‚ so are anxious to get an arbitration date‚ but so far have heard nothing from the league.

“We don’t feel like we have done anything wrong so the sooner we get this process out of the way the better‚ but things are in the hands of the PSL.”

A resolution was passed seven years ago that PSL clubs would not taken on sports betting companies as sponsors until the league had investigated the issue more thoroughly‚ but this investigation was never carried out.

City have continued to wear the SportPesa name on their shirts and have the company’s branding at their home matches.

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