Sekhukhune United are facing public pressure to withdraw Mokete Mogaila, who has a culpable homicide court case, ahead of the clash against Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday.
Mogaila is facing charges of reckless driving and culpable homicide after surrendering himself to the police following an accident that claimed the life of a nine-year old child on Andrew Mapheto Road in Tembisa, with several other passengers seriously injured, in October last year.
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He briefly appeared at the Tembisa Magistrate's Court on 5 February for the second time to answer to his charges, but the matter was postponed to 19 May for further investigations, and Mogaila's bail was extended.
The wingback returned to the field for the first time since his charges on 19 February, in a 4-2 win over AmaZulu FC, where he played the whole 90 minutes and assisted a goal.
There was public outcry, however - at least on social media - when Mogaila scored a spectacular winner in Sekhukhune's 1-0 victory against Chippa United over the weekend and was named Man of the Match, given the severity of the case.
After the club was reported to have said they have the blessing of the family of the child who lost her life in the accident, to play Mogaila, Mavimbela and Kekana family spokesperson Sifiso Sikhosana has refuted the claims.
"I heard the news, I just want to assure you that is not the truth. Nothing has happened. We never met them (Sekhukhune), we never gave them the green light to play Shaune Mogaila," Sikhosana said on Radio 2000's Game On.
"They must not to put the family into this, we've never had any conversation with them. It's not the truth, I think it's a PR stunt.
"That's how South Africa wants to do things. We were very shocked to see him come back and play. What happened during his second appearance, he came in the morning early and was released (on bail). We came there, he had already left.
"We were shocked to see him again on the field. Personally, we cannot dictate to Sekhukhune, but if that's how they want to do things, we'll not have a say," he added.
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According to law, Mogaila can continue playing until a court order has been handed down.
"As per South Africa's legal framework, which upholds the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty', he retains the liberty to continue training and participating in other activities until a court order has been handed down," Tyrell Singh, Associate Attorney and Sports lawyer at Yingke Africa SA, confirmed to this website.
Sekhukhune hosting Sundowns in a Betway Premiership encounter on Wednesday (19:30).