It's a bit of a joke actually, says Cape Town City coach Diogo Peral about PSL relegation saga

The Star

25-05-2025

Cape Town City's interim coach Diogo Peral has ridiculed the situation where his team will need to wait until the conclusion of the Golden Arrows and SuperSport United fixture after the conclusion of the regular season to have their Betway Premiership fate decided.
City finished on 27 points after a goalless draw against Western Cape neighbours Stellenbosch FC on Saturday at the DHL Stadium. But despite being a point above the relegation zone, they will only know whether they will contest the playoffs after Arrows and SuperSport, who trail City by a point, play 45 minutes of a fixture that was stopped due to loadshedding back in February already.
'The reason these games are all played at the same time is so that teams don't get to choose the result they want,' Peral said.
'The very reason those games are to avoid this and then on top of it it's the two teams that are fighting relegation that get to play against each other.
'So, it's a bit of a joke actually, but it is what it is and if we start with all the theories and all the negatives, it's not going to help us in the next game.'
Peral has adopted a pragmatic approach to the unique scenario facing his team and has already instructed his support staff to prepare his team to contest the playoffs.
'The only thing we can do is what's in our hands and what's in our hands is to forget about all that and to go and prepare as well as we can, like we've been preparing for the last few games we've played,' he said.
'We're planning for the play-offs, watching the opposition we'll be coming up against, and we've already travelled to watch some of their games, so the planning is well on the way already.
'If something else happens, then so be it – great, but we'll be at training... One day off and then the boys will be back at training [on Monday],'