By Velile Mnyandu
An enquiry by the Portuguese Football Football Federation (FPF) is believed to have triggered the ineligibility case surrounding Golden Arrows midfielder Simo Mbhele, which was confirmed by the Premier Soccer League’s prosecutor Advocate Zola Majavu earlier this week, iDiski Times has learnt.
Announcing the unexpected case of Mbhele, Majavu who had just returned for his second stint as the prosecutor of the PSL following the resignation of Nande Becker at the end of November 2021, confirmed what this case was all about….
”I can confirm that Golden Arrows have been charged. The charges relate to the fielding of an ineligible player in the name of Mr Brighton Simo Mbhele. That particular case has been enrolled for hearing on the 20th of January at 18h00,” said Majavu in a recorded message by the PSL department.
Mbele, a product of the famed KwaZulu-Natal Academy in Durban, left for Portugal in 2017 to join Sociedade União 1º Dezembro (First of December) and he has been based in Portugal until he returned to South Africa last year to play for Squash FC in the SAFA Regional League under the SAFA Ethekwini Outer West Stream.
It’s believed that this is where the first alarm bells were raised, Mbhele’s contract with 1º Dezembro was finishing at the end of June 2021 but before the end of that month, he signed for Squash and played for them in the promotional play-offs to ABC Motsepe League. And this registration was completed without taking into account of his registration status in Portugal where he was still active on their books in the Campeonato de Portugal League (Fourth Tier).
After the play-offs, Squash transferred Mbhele to Golden Arrows using an amateur clearance they had received from SAFA, but once the attacking midfielder was registered professional on the TMS system, it then triggered the attention of the Portuguese football authorities. It’s believed that Arrows registered Mbhele with the PSL without the International Transfer Certificate (ITC), which SAFA should have received from the FPF as the player last played at 1º Dezembro.
The 23-year-old played in eight Arrows matches this season, including two MTN 8 semi-final games against Mamelodi Sundowns and six DSTV Premiership matches against SuperSport United, TS Galaxy, AmaZulu, Sekhukhune FC, Marumo Gallants and Sundowns. Arrows accumulated nine points from these matches.
Should they be found guilty and sanctioned, Arrows are not only in danger of losing the nine points but they could also be fined a lot of money. There is also the possibility of the FPF taking this case to FIFA should the clubs Mbhele played for in Portugal lodge some formal complaints for the compensation fees.
