By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Premier Soccer Leagues (PSL) is scheduled to convene an urgent Board of Governors meeting to discuss Royal AM’s status.
This follows the court ruling that indicated that the club must now be sold to meet its financial obligations.
Under rule 57.13 of the NSL Handbook, the league can impose sanctions that lead to suspension, expulsion, and relegation of the clubs.
Fullview learnt that club owner Shauwn Mkhize has been fervently trying to avert both liquidation and the sale of the club, yet the judicial decision seems irrevocable, given the curator’s findings.
Royal AM has been under the spotlight since 2021, when the KwaZulu-Natal-based side refused to play in the relegation/promotion playoffs of that season.
At the time, the team owned by businesswoman and reality TV star Mkhize believed they had been treated unfairly by the PSL after missing out on automatic promotion to the top-flight from the Championship.
Sekhukhune United were crowned the winners of that second-tier league campaign, beating second-placed Royal by just two points to automatic promotion. Three of the points accumulated by Sekhukhune during that season came after they were handed three points by the league after their opponents, Polokwane City, were punished for failing to field the prescribed number of under-23 players, as stipulated by PSL rules.
Royal boycotted the season-ending playoffs, instead approaching the courts to try to have Sekhukhune’s promotion overturned. This did not happen, with Mkhize eventually buying the Premiership status of cash-strapped Bloemfotein Celtic to join Sekhukhune as one of the two new top-flight teams for the 2021/22 season.
Since then, Royal has been in and out of court as they try to fight an order by global soccer governing body Fifa to pay their former striker, Samir Nurković, R15-million after the club terminated the Serbian’s contract in 2022, without making a single appearance. This was after they signed him as a free agent when he departed Kaizer Chiefs.
South African Reserve Service (SARS) seized Mkhize’s assets due to unpaid taxes of nearly R40 million. The asset seizure and frozen accounts have prevented the club from paying its players, with December salaries only paid in January.
Following the asset seizure by SARS due to tax irregularities, Royal AM has found itself in dire straits.
Several clubs within the league are advocating for the immediate expulsion of Royal AM, claiming the club has caused significant reputational harm to the PSL and its partners.
The PSL has also suspended monthly grant payments to the club, as headline sponsor Betway is not receiving adequate exposure.
Royal AM last played on 29 December, losing 3-1 to TS Galaxy. They currently sit at the bottom of the Betway Premiership table with eight points from 11 matches.