Johnson calls for end to season, Chiefs as champs

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday May 06, 2020. 12:00

Veteran coach Cavin Johnson has called for the scrapping of South Africa’s 2019-20 season, arguing that restarting while coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country is simply “too dangerous”.

Johnson, who was axed from head coaching positions at AmaZulu and Black Leopards this season, has also called for log leaders Kaizer Chiefs to be declared champions.

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is set to hold a key video conference meeting tomorrow (Thursday 7 May) in which they will decide if and how they propose to resume the campaign, which has been suspended since mid-March.

“If we say we want to follow FIFA protocols then that means we have to do the right thing, give the trophy to Chiefs,” Johnson told Isolezwe.

“I know there are some people that will argue that they still have to play games and that Chiefs were still to play so and so but they must be given the trophy, honestly.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to finish the season because it is too dangerous to do so. Let’s just hope when the PSL committee meets during the week, they will put the lives of the people ahead of everything.”

The South African Football Association has said that football can resume only during Level-1 of the lockdown, with the country only dropping to Level-4 at the start of this month.

“We must know that if the PSL committee decides not to continue with the games that will be all about saving the lives of thousands of people,” Johnson added.

“Even if they choose to continue with the games, there’s a lot that needs to be considered just like they might need at least four weeks for the games to continue, to ensure everything is in place.

“Right now, we are on Level-4, when will we reach Level-3 or Level-2? This coronavirus pandemic is scary because we don’t know when it will end.

“There’s a lot of travelling involved when PSL games are played. In this scenario, travelling is not a good idea.”