Bloemfontein Celtic are said to have lodged a formal complaint against Mamelodi Sundowns for including Tebogo Langerman on the bench during the Nedbank Cup final at Orlando Stadium on Saturday night.
The Brazilians completed the treble by claiming a 1-0 victory over Phunya Sele Sele, but the fixture was not without controversy.
Mamelodi Sundowns in hot water
Langerman did not need to take to the field throughout the contest, but his inclusion among the substitutes sparked ire from Celtic coach John Maduka.
The Bafana defender had collected four yellow cards prior to the final, which triggered an automatic suspension, ruling him out of the encounter.
We can confirm that @Bloem_Celtic have lodged an official protest against @Masandawana for fielding an ineligible player. Tebogo Langerman picked up a fourth booking in the match against @BlackLeopardsFC last Saturday.#SSDiski #NedbankCup2020
— Thabiso TT Tema (@ThabisoTema) September 12, 2020
Bloemfontein Celtic cry foul
Maduka pointed out Sundowns’ transgression after the final whistle.
“I’ve just learned that Mamelodi Sundowns used one of the players that was on suspension but I’ll leave it to the officials to deal with that,” the former Malawian international said.
“We were not sure what was happening, the fourth official saying he had to do one player at the time so we had to wait, spent about four or five minutes waiting but it’s one of those things.”
John Maduka
His opposite number Pitso Mosimane, however, said he was unaware that one of the players on the team sheet was ineligible to play.
“I don’t do admin at the club, I don’t do that. I focus on coaching the team and if I have reports on certain issues, of course, I can’t be a coach who doesn’t observe all those things,” Mosimane said in a post-match press conference.
“But I don’t know about that. I’m not aware at this point in time. The management will have to tell us about all this. But you must win on the pitch, neh?”
Pitso Mosimane
According to the rules, Langerman is deemed to have participated in the encounter by virtue of his name being on the team sheet.
It is however also stipulated that a suspended player may not don the team’s uniform nor partake in warm-up activities before the game.
