Namibia: NPL Ordered to Pay Tigers

Sheefeni Nikodemus

19 April 2011

THE NFA Arbitration Committee yesterday ordered the Namibia Premier League to pay Tigers N$12 400, bringing an end to a lengthy dispute.

The fine forms part of the ruling handed down by the arbitrators in the case between the Namibia Premier League and Eleven Arrows against Tigers.

The dispute dates back to September 24 last year when Tigers boycotted their season opener against Arrows at the Kuisebmond Stadium, claiming that they had initially been drawn against Blue Boys and not Arrows.

A complaint was registered with the league and Tigers were later charged by the NPL. Feeling aggrieved, however, Tigers requested that the matter be reviewed by the NFA Arbitration Committee.

The two teams have also been ordered to honour their outstanding fixture in Walvis Bay on Friday, with “each of the parties to bear their own legal costs for the arbitration”.

“The Namibia Premier League to pay Tigers FC N$12 400 in full settlement of the matter, not later that 7 May 2011,” read a statement from the NFA’s media Officer Dan Kamati.

Acting NPL CEO Tovey //Hoëbeb said: “The matter has been settled.”

HAIKALI VERDICT

The league has still not delivered on its promise to make public the findings in the hearing of its suspended Chief Executive Officer Matthew Haikali.

League chairman Johnny Doëseb had said the verdict in Haikali’s case would be known last week already.

It has now transpired that the premier division’s Board of Governors plans to meet tomorrow to discuss the Haikali saga, among other things.

Haikali has been under investigation for allegedly given himself and the entire NPL head office staff a hefty pay rise without the consent of the Board of Governors (BOG).

He has been on “special leave” since February 4.

“The BOG will have a meeting about this on Wednesday (tomorrow),” said //Hoëbeb.

Also outstanding is the disciplinary matter of Blue Boys, who abandoned their league match against Orlando Pirates last month. The NPL charged Blue Boys for “bringing the game into disrepute” by walking off the field midway through the second half of the encounter, in which they trailed 0-3 at the time.

In another pending case, Civics lodged a complaint with the NPL claiming that Orlando Pirates had fielded unregistered players for their season opener.

“The Wednesday meeting will reveal the way forward,” //Hoëbeb said of the outstanding cases.

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