Gallants Not Relegated, But Fined R200k For Mphambaniso Gaffe

PSL prosecutor Zola Majavu has confirmed that Marumo Gallants has, for now, avoided relegation, despite being fined R200,000 for the improper registration of midfielder Monde Mphambaniso.

Half of this fine, R100,000, has been suspended for 24 months on the condition that the club does not commit a similar offense during that period.

Interestingly, Mphambaniso himself has not faced any misconduct charges from the PSL Disciplinary Committee regarding his registration; only the club has been penalized.

Mphambaniso was reportedly not properly registered with the league at the start of last season, lacking the necessary clearance after club chairman Abram Sello purchased the status of Moroka Swallows.

When Gallants acquired the Swallows’ status, they sold their Motsepe Foundation Championship status to Leruma United. This transaction meant Mphambaniso required clearance from Leruma to be properly registered in the league, but this crucial step was apparently not completed.

Cape Town City became aware of this irregularity and escalated the matter to SAFA arbitration, which then referred it to the PSL for a ruling. City had been awaiting this decision, as a favorable outcome could have seen Gallants relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship and City reinstated to the PSL top flight. It will be interesting to see what action the Mother City club takes next, given they were the first to flag the issue.

Majavu indicated that the matter might not be definitively closed. He stated, “This is the end of this matter for now, unless a party that is aggrieved by this outcome exercises its right to appeal, in which case we will deal with the matter when it arises.”