Chiyangwa's Zifa dismiss CAS mediation

ZIFA are adamant they will not recognise the application filed by the Premier Soccer League with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The country's football mother body insisted the top-flight body needed to first exhaust domestic remedies over the relegation-promotion dispute that has cast a shadow on the closure of the 2016 season.

Despite the PSL receiving confirmation that the Swiss-based CAS had begun proceedings in the arbitration case filed by the elite clubs, Zifa last night argued that the application would be of no force or effect to them.

The Zifa constitutional committee chairman Itai Ndudzo last night said the Association had not been served with any further papers from CAS.

Ndudzo said Zifa would, however, not be intimidated by communication from CAS as they were treating the PSL and the 16 clubs as different entities, arguing that it is the clubs and not the league who are members of the Association.

The Premiership clubs agreed to approach the Swiss court to either arbitrator or mediate on the matter and appointed Caps United chairman Lewis Uriri and London-based lawyer Pat Kachidza to handle the application.

CAS this week then wrote to both parties through top lawyer Jose Luis Andrade outlining the procedure and the options that are available for the soccer mother body and its flagship affiliate.

"The present arbitration procedure presents prima facie characteristics of both appeals procedure before the CAS. In light of the claimants' option to file a request for arbitration the request for relief contained therein and the priori hybrid nature of this matter, the case has been assigned to the ordinary Arbitration Division and shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Articles R38 et Esq. of Code of Sports-related Arbitration,'' read part of Andrade's letter.

The CAS lawyer also suggested mediation on the matter.

"I take this opportunity to draw the parties' attention to the possibility of submitting this dispute to CAS mediation, which would not prejudice the parties' right to subsequently re-submit the dispute to CAS arbitration, should the dispute remain unresolved at the conclusion of the mediation procedure.

"A successful mediation procedure would result in bringing settlement, the terms of which will have been agreed upon by both parties.

"Mediation has potentially significant time and cost advantages for both the claimants and the respondent and is more a flexible procedure, which facilitates more creative means of resolving the dispute,'' Andrade said.

Andrade's letter effectively meant that:

- Zifa have 10 days to reply to the PSL request for interim measures of protection.

- Zifa have 20 days to reply to the substance of the claim.

- Zifa have 5 days to agree to three arbitrators as PSL have suggested and nominate their preferred arbitrator. If they don't the president of the ordinary arbitration division will decide on the number of arbitrators and appoint them.

- Zifa and PSL may by agreement pursue the cheaper route of mediation by CAS''.

If the spirit of the communication from CAS is anything to go by then the two parties have 10 days to agree to arbitration failing which the matter would proceed to arbitration.

But Ndudzo claimed Zifa had not received such communication and insisted the Association would not to be moved by any of the parameters set out in the letter.

The Harare lawyer, who has also been advising Zifa in their dispute with the PSL over the number of teams to be promoted into the top-flight for the 2017 season, also maintained that CAS did not have jurisdiction over the matter.

"Zifa has only received one communication from CAS dated 6 December 2016. The letter advises Zifa of a request for arbitration filed by the PSL and 16 PSL clubs.

"The letter from CAS requests Zifa to reply within twenty (20) days. Zifa in the reply has to address whether CAS has jurisdiction.

"Zifa's position is very clear. CAS has no jurisdiction on two grounds.

"1. Article 59(1) of Zifa's constitution which clearly establishes an arbitral tribunal headed by advocate Isaiah Mureriwa. That is the body that deals with disputes between Zifa and any of its members.

"2. Zifa does not have any member called PSL. The exhaustive list of Zifa's members is listed in Article 10 of the Zifa constitution. There is clearly no PSL in that list. The PSL cannot impose itself as a Zifa member outside the constitution. That should be common sense.

"Only individual PSL clubs are members of Zifa. As you know they all freely, willingly and voluntarily participated in the Congress decision which they cannot contest simply because they lost.

"Losing an election in which you fully participate does not give rise to a dispute. You have to be magnanimous in defeat, particularly in sport,'' Ndudzo said.

Ndudzo also dismissed the mediation bid suggested by Andrade.

"There is no scope for mediation by CAS. Zifa already has a process led by Piraishe Mabhena that is attending to the issue comprising of PSL club representatives.

"Also note Zifa has not been furnished with any interim measure request.

"At this juncture Zifa is not perturbed by the outrightly ill conceived and groundless, baseless embarrassing approach to CAS. It's a trifle that will expose ignorance of very elementary provisions of the Zifa constitution,'' said Ndudzo.