Orlando Pirates match against Royal AM has been called off
The PSL has confirmed that the Betway Premiership match between Orlando Pirates and Royal AM scheduled for Thursday has been called off. The decision comes after the PSL issued a statement on Wednesday.
In the statement, the League cited the inability of Royal AM to communicate their recent challenges.
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The club was put under curatorship by the South African Revenue Service [SARS] in December last year. It comes as club owner Shauwn Mkhize is embroiled in a tax scandal. Subsequently, the club failed to pay the players their December salaries. They also missed their league clash against Chippa United.
The club was expected to be back in action on Thursday but the PSL has since confirmed that all matches involving Royal AM has been put on hold.
PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE ISSUE UPDATE ON WHY THE ORLANDO PIRATES AND ROYAL AND MATCH WAS CALLED OFF
“On 9 January 2025 Royal AM FC informed the League that it could not meet its commitments in respect of its match against Chippa United FC on 11 January 2025 due to difficulties arising from the appointment of a Curator,” explained the League.
“The Executive Committee (ExCo) has since convened three separate meetings seeking the assurance that the club, under curatorship, will be able to meet its fixture commitments in a compliant fashion.
“On 17 January 2025 ExCo were informed that a joint letter of comfort (from club management and the Curator) would be provided confirming that the issues that led to the club being unable to meet its commitments had been resolved,” they further explained.
“No such letter of comfort has been forthcoming and ExCo has been left with no alternative but to cancel PSL Fixture 106 – Royal AM vs Orlando Pirates Harry Gwala Stadium at 19h30 – and to suspend all other Royal AM fixtures [Betway Premiership and Nedbank Cup] until further notice.
“The Executive Committee will meet again on Friday 24 January 2025 at 11h00 to afford Royal AM (under curatorship) to make representations regarding this matter.”