The Brazilians named the veteran wing-back in their matchday squad against Phunya Sele Sele despite being suspended for the final
Mamelodi Sundowns cannot be stripped of their Nedbank Cup title despite including Tebogo Langerman in the matchday squad that faced Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday night.
This is according to former referee and PSL manager Ace Ncobo, who took to his Twitter to clarify the confusion around the matter.
Langerman was supposed to miss the match as he was suspended for accumulating four yellow cards.
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However, Sundowns failed to pick that up and erroneously named Langerman in the squad but the wing-back was an unused substitute.
“As per requests, let me give clarity on the Tebogo Langerman issue. Please note that it’s not a refereeing matter, it’s a Rules & Regulations issue so I’ll be wearing the “former PSL GM” cap on this one,” wrote Ncobo.
“Let’s start with participation. He was on the bench. Did he participate? In terms of Rule 16.5, a player who is named in the Team Sheet is deemed to have participated in the match. So, indeed Langerman participated.”
Ncobo said the information he has is that Celtic didn’t lodge a protest before the match as per the PSL rules but only after the match.
And therefore, that, according to Ncobo constitutes as the complaint and therefore it doesn’t place the match and its outcome under review.
“Did Celtic lodge a valid protest? From what I’m able to gather, Celtic made a submission after the match, which would then categorise their submission as a complaint rather than a protest. A protest regarding the ineligibility of a player can only be valid when submitted to the referee, in the presence of the opposing captain and an assistant referee no less than 30 minutes prior to kick-off (Rule 51.3),” he continued.
“It, therefore, follows that Celtic did not lodge a protest with the League and therefore there is no disciplinary protest that places the match and its outcomes under review.
“Despite there being no protest but a complaint, what is the status of the action by Sundowns to have an ineligible player participating in the match? Even if there was no submission from Celtic, Sundowns is guilty of misconduct.
“In terms of Rule 54.1, any player who accumulates 5 cautions (yellow cards) in the same season is suspended for the match immediately following the one wherein he received the 4th caution. PSL issued the list of suspended players and Langerman was on that list.
“In terms of Rule 55.1.3, by being in breach of the NSL Handbook, specifically failing to comply with Rule 54.1, Sundowns is guilty of misconduct and the league DC will surely find them guilty. There are no facts to dispute the guilt as the player’s name is on the Team Sheet.”
Furthermore, Ncobo said Sundowns could be slapped with a monetary fine and keep their trophy.
“As said before, any punitive measure will have nothing to do with the outcome of the match. Precedents show that Member Clubs escape with a monetary fine,” concluded the former PSL referee.
“In conclusion, Sundowns remains the winners of the Nedbank Cup and there is no controversy around that fact.”
