The two football bodies have not agreed on almost everything that has to do with the return of matches thus far
The South African Football Association (Safa) acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe has revealed that the government created confusion between them and the PSL by sending two different letters to both organisations.
Both Safa and PSL have, at times, found themselves at loggerheads with regard to the return of competitive football in the country.
According to Motlanthe, there were times when meetings were held at director general level with himself and PSL acting CEO Mato Madlala while other meetings were held between Safa president Dr Danny Jordaan and PSL chairman Dr Irvin Khoza.
"For the JLC (Joint Liaison Committee) to sit‚ it was after the Safa president (Danny Jordaan) had met with the minister (Nathi Mthethwa) and the chairman of the league (Dr Irvin Khoza) saying that football needed to develop a one-voice policy‚" Motlanthe told the South African Football Journalists Association.
"The JLC was very successful. We succeeded in getting the communication and we knew that the communication was fine up until the government started communicating with us in a different way," he said.
Motlanthe said Jordaan only became of a letter sent to the PSL by Mthethwa when he met with Khoza while Safa had a different letter to the one sent to them by the Minister of Sports.
"You have a letter which the president (Jordaan) only became aware of when he met with the chairman (Khoza)," revealed Motlanthe.
"And when it was asked‚ to say but‚ in terms of our meeting resolution the federation must be the ones communicating‚ then another letter came from the minister [to Safa]."
"And I think the source of the confusion is those two letters of the 28th and of the 5th.
"I think they have created huge confusion‚ and they have derailed the discussions that were taking place," he continued.
"Because I can tell you there were meetings that were held at the DG level where he would meet with me and the CEO of the league‚ and the minister‚ when he wanted a meeting‚ would meet with the Safa president and the chairman of the league."
"That was how communication was handled until those two letters came and really brought huge confusion."
Motlanthe said the letter Mthethwa sent to the PSL failed to address the role of Safa in the discussion for the return of football.
The Sports Ministry had given Safa the power to play an overarching role in facilitating the resumption of PSL football.
"Because now the PSL says‚ ‘Whatever we are doing we are basing it on the letter of the 28th‚ and they are ignoring the letter which came on the 5th‚ which says the association must [play an overarching role].
"That’s how the government has contributed to this confusion," concluded Motlanthe.
Safa has proposed the first week of August as the return date for PSL football but the league is yet to make a decision on whether or not to accept it.
The league and its board of governors will meet on Monday, July 27 to decide the future of the 2019-20 season and possibly go back to Safa with a solid answer.