Shauwn Mkhize’s Royal AM Won’t Be Crowned GladAfrica Champions, Court of Arbitration for Sport Rejects Appeal

Shauwn Mkhize’s Royal AM Won’t Be Crowned GladAfrica Champions, Court of Arbitration for Sport Rejects Appeal

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:00 PM
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  • Royal AM have exhausted all legal options in their pursuit to be crowned GladAfrica Champions for the 2020/21 season
  • Royal AM took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland after receiving no joy in South Africa
  • MaMkhize's Royal AM will now have to turn their attention to the race for second place in the league

Shauwn Mkhize’s Royal AM side's last chance to be crowned the 2020/21 GladAfrica Champions have been dashed.

Sekhukhune United won the title, but Royal AM appealed the matter. MaMkhize’s side were unhappy with an arbitration ruling that awarded Sekhukhune United three extra points. The points allowed them to leapfrog Royal AM to the title.

Shauwn Mkhize, Andile Mpisane, Royal AM, Crowned, GladAfrica Champions, Court of Arbitration for Sport, Rejects Appeal, International, Sport, Football, Premier Soccer League, South Africa
Royal AM Chairman, Andile Mpisane and owner, Shauwn Mkhize, have exhausted all options as they sought to appeal a decision that saw Sekhukhune United crowned GladAfrica Champions. Image: Power987Sport
Source: Twitter

Royal AM first took their case to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and then the high court, but after losing their case on all levels, they decided to take it one step further. The club then approached the Constitutional Court but had their appeal rejected there as well.

Shauwn Mkhize’s side then took the matter to the highest sporting court in the world, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, that has come to nothing as the CAS rejected their appeal, Times LIVE reported.

CAS stated that it had ‘no jurisdiction to hear the appeal filed by Royal AM.’

It also that the costs of the arbitration will be covered by Royal AM and that the club will have to pay the National Soccer League [NSL] and Sekhukhune United a contribution of R64 000 each towards their legal fees and other expenses incurred.

With the CAS being the highest court that they could be approached, Royal AM have now exhausted all of their options to have the matter heard.

Royal AM will now focus on securing second place in the DStv Premiership. The side will contest a KwaZulu-Natal derby when they take on AmaZulu this weekend, IOL reported.

Royal AM determined to be crowned the GladAfrica Champions, take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Sports Brief earlier reported that Royal AM may currently hold DStv Premiership status, but the KwaZulu-Natal club is determined to be declared the GladAfrica Champions for the 2020/2021 season.

The club last year approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland and have finally been given a date for their hearing. Royal AM’s case stems from the 2020/2021 GladAfrica Championship final league position. Royal AM was on top, giving them automatic qualification into the DStv Premiership.

However, the South African Football Association’s arbitrator, Hilton Epstein, ruled that Sekhukhune be declared as the first division champions. Sekhukhune were granted three points and a victory over for a disputed game that they had with Polokwane City. That case was handled separately, The Citizen reported.

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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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DStv PremiershipShauwn MkhizeSouth Africa