SESHEGO – In what can be seen as a bad advertisement for soccer in Limpopo, the Castle Premiership League match between Dynamos and Ajax Cape Town that was scheduled for Sunday at the Seshego Stadium did not materialise, and Dynamos’ effort to “bring quality football to the people” backfired.

Ajax complained that the venue was of a poor standard and stated that the poles were too small and that the pitch was not conducive for play. After inspecting the venue, the referee, Mr Ace Ncobo, upheld their complaint and called the match off.

In a telephonic interview with the head coach of Ajax, Mr Gordon Igesund, stated that he was shocked and disappointed by the Dynamos management’s behaviour. He said that after the referee had told them that the venue was not playable, he confronted the Managing Director of Dynamos, Mr Pat Malabela, and asked him to look for an alternative venue. “Instead of listening to my story, he told me to talk to his team’s coach, Lifa Qosha,” he said.

According to him, they were prepared to play the match two hours after the 15:45 scheduled kickoff time if Dynamos could secure an alternative venue. “In fact, we were prepared to play the game even the following day, if the league blessed the move, as we will only fly back to Cape Town after our Coca-Cola Cup match against Dynamos on Saturday,” he added.

Igesund further indicated that they want to see whether the league will give them the same treatment that they gave to Supersport United last season. United were given three points after Manning Rangers failed to provide a suitable venue for their match.

The administrative manager of Dynamos, Mr Bothwell Matewe, stated that he was surprised to see Ajax complaining about the venue because the PSL stadium inspector, Prof Ronnie Schloss, inspected the venue last week and gave them an okay to stage the match, subject to certain conditions.

According to him, Schloss told them to improve certain aspects of the stadium including the goal posts, the grass and the markings and that they had complied with all the conditions. Prof Schloss told Mirror that the stadium was below the required standard when he inspected it, and that he gave Dynamos the go-ahead to use the venue, on condition that they meet all the conditions that he put forward to them.

The Chief Executive Officer of the PSL, Mr Trevor Phillips, said that he will only comment after receiving the reports from the match officials, clubs and the match commissioner.

Dynamos will host Ajax Cape Town in a Coca-Cola Cup match at the Giyani Stadium tomorrow.