Kaizer Chiefs have elected to forfeit their home DStv Premiership match against Cape Town City FC which was scheduled to take place at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, 4 December.
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This comes after the Soweto giants confirmed no fewer than 31 staff and players had tested positive for Covid-19.
Amakhosi also confirmed that they wrote to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to have their five league matches this month postponed, starting with their clash against the Citizens.
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However, that appeal was declined by the PSL’s executive committee.
Cape Town City FC chairperson John Comitis – who is part of the PSL exco – confirmed that they had sat and decided against Kaizer Chiefs’ request to have their matches put on hold.
“I think it’s quite straightforward. The game has not been postponed officially by the league. We will be at the game. It was discussed at the exco. And the circumstances were debated but unfortunately, those are confidential,” Comitis said.
The Citizens took to social media to post images of the team preparing to depart Cape Town International Airport on Friday, heading to Johannesburg to honour their clash against the Glamour Boys.
Travel Day
The Citizens depart for JHB ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Kaizer Chiefs.#iamCityFC pic.twitter.com/gxfJSYjHlF
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) December 3, 2021
Amakhosi, though, issued a statement early in the evening, saying they’ve forfeited the match.
The Kaizer Chiefs statement read:
In light of the recent outbreak of Covid-19 infections that has befallen the Club, Kaizer Chiefs submitted two letters to the Premier Soccer League pleading for the postponement of the remaining matches scheduled for the month of December following the outbreak.
In the interim, the prevailing circumstances dictate that Kaizer Chiefs must sadly confirm that the Club will be unable to host the match against Cape Town City, scheduled for Saturday, 4 December at 18:00. At least 31 employees have tested positive for the virus and the Club has subsequently been obliged to instruct all players, members of the technical team and staff, who are deemed primary contacts, to quarantine as per official protocols.
Unfortunately, this is the only option available in the current situation and, as a responsible corporate citizen, Kaizer Chiefs upholds its duty to protect the lives of those around us – including others – and do our best to avoid an outbreak that might potentially affect the league and the country.
The match will likely be deemed a walkover for Cape Town City, with Kaizer Chiefs losing the match and all three points.
Amakhosi are said to have had only 13 players available for the match, which incredibly is deemed more than enough to play a match. The minimum number is seven!
Kaizer Chiefs’ next match is away against Golden Arrows on Wednesday, 8 December (19:30). It remains to be seen if they will be able to field a team for that match.
Mzansi has also seen a sharp spike in positive Covid-19 cases after the detection of the new variant, Omicron, a week ago.
Friday night’s most up to date count revealed the country had recorded 16 055 new cases – almost 4 000 more new cases than the day before.
from The South African https://ift.tt/3DgeceY
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