Moorosi Tsiane
PREMIER League side, Lioli has filed yet another complaint before the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) accusing the Lesotho Football Association and the Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) of failing to take stern measures against Bantu.
The fresh complaint follows a series of complaints, one of which resulted in Bantu FC being docked of three points and three goals from a game they played in December 2017.
Lioli complained that Bantu had used irregularly registered players in the game. Bantu were eventually convicted of registering four more than the five stipulated foreign players.
The players, Pheko Molaoa, Phumuha Matsipa, Itumeleng Falene and Khotso Molelengoana were subsequently found to have fraudulently acquired Lesotho identity documents when they were in fact South Africans.
Bantu contested the decision but also lost the appeal while LeFA and the Premier League were tasked by the Disputes and Protests Committee (DISPROCO) to investigate the matter further.
Lioli went on to make match fixing allegations against Bantu in accusing their management of contacting their players prior to the league decider match which the former lost.
However, in a new twist, Lioli have accused LeFA and PLMC of dragging their feet instead of punishing Bantu.
The letter reads: “We hereby lodge a complaint against Lesotho Football Association, Premier League Management Committee and Bantu FC before the DRC or a relevant judicial organ of LeFA”.
“The said bodies have failed or neglected to act against Bantu after it was found guilty by three LeFA courts of using improperly registered players during its Premier League game by docking the points in all games where these players were used.
“LeFA has said it is not able to act because Lioli has filled the matter with Court of Arbitration Sport (CAS), a matter which is not true and highly misleading. Lioli FC merely requested for permission to seek extra territorial intervention and not that it has already placed the matter before any court.”
The letter further accuses the PLMC of wrongly crowning Bantu as the 2017/18 season champions.
“This action or inaction has led to the unlawful crowning of Bantu FC by LeFA and PLMC despite the glaring challenges the process faced.
“By so doing they failed to carry out their mandate in terms of article 26 of the Lesotho football statues and article 45.1, 45.2 and 45.3 of the rules regulations of 2011 of the Premier League and A division,” the letter reads.
“We also want to place the issue of possible conflict of interest within the PLMC when a decision was taken by its members who were clearly incapacitated by their direct interest in the matter. Had these bodies acted properly, a different outcome of the Premier League championship would have taken place.”
LeFA secretary general Mokhosi Mohapi on Tuesday confirmed reception of the letter but said they cannot act as the matter is before judicial bodies. He however, said there was nothing LeFA could have done to resolve the matter as Lioli and Bantu kept escalating it.
“As LeFA there was nothing we could do about that matter because both teams kept delaying the case by passing it from DISPROCO to Appeal and Arbitration. Lioli had also asked to take the matter further to FIFA and CAS so we could not work on a case that is already under other judicial bodies,” Mohapi told the press conference on Tuesday.
