Cape Town Spurs withdraw Moroka Swallows protest

The Urban Warriors claimed Swallows had failed to follow procedure regarding the majority of their arrivals during the January transfer window in which the club recruited new faces, among them Ntsikelelo Nyauza, Rolando Sanou and Ntsikelelo Ngqonga. 

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Spurs were also using reports The Dube Birds had fired 22 players after the chairman of the internal hearing had recommended they be fired for misconduct on the back of the club failing to honour two DStv Premiership fixtures in December. 

Prior to kick-off at Athlone Stadium last Sunday, a formal protest was lodged in the presence of the match commissioner and referee with Spurs convinced Swallows were guilty of fielding ineligible players for the fixture.

But the public broadcaster has seen a letter confirming this complaint has been withdrawn due to “factors beyond Spurs’ control and a lack of co-operation from witnesses”.

Two days after lodging the protest, the Mother City-based outfit had in fact gone ahead and paid the R20 000 required for the Premier Soccer League prosecutor Zola Majavu to take the complaint seriously.

“Spurs has been forced to abandon the protest and hereby withdraw its protest,” read the letter addressed to Majavu this week. 

There were suggestions by coach Ernst Middendorp that Orlando Pirates had also lodged a protest on Wednesday night before their 1-1 draw against Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium got underway.

SABC Sport can, however, confirm there was no complaint from The Buccaneers, especially given the NSL rules allow for players to be registered twice in a single season and the new Swallows players all arrived as free agents three months ago.