Somebody may have messed up. Badly. It appears as though FIFA rules may have been flouted with the registration of Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro at Ajax Cape Town this month, despite the fact that the Urban Warriors are the third club he has played for in the 2017/18 season.
This is against FIFA rules, and there is the possibility that the R2.5-million that Ajax paid Saudi Arabian club Al-Faisaly for his services may have been wasted ... for this season at least.
And on top of that, if his registration is found to be in error, there is the chance that Ajax may lose the three points they gained in a 3-1 victory over Platinum Stars in which Ndoro scored the final goal.
If he is found to be ineligible for the match, it is hard to see how the Premier Soccer League (PSL) will not strip Ajax of the points and hand them to their relegation rivals, Stars.
Ndoro was left out of the squad for the 0-0 draw at home to Free State Stars on Friday night, with Ajax not wanting to put the potential points for that match in jeopardy too.
Would they have won with him in the side? We will never know, but you have to feel they would have stood a much better chance and so even if he is cleared to play on for the team, this saga has potentially lost them two points there.
Ndoro will travel to Johannesburg on Monday for a hearing with the PSL over his eligibility as both Ajax and the League grapple with the interpretation of the rules.
The striker played a single official match for Orlando Pirates at the start of this campaign (a 13-minute cameo against Chippa United) before making his move to Al-Faisaly, where he featured in a further five matches for the Middle East club.
He then made his Ajax debut against Stars, and also featured in the 1-0 loss to Cape Town City that followed.
This appears to be a blatant flouting of FIFA rule 5.3 on player registrations that says: "Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs.
"As an exception to this rule, a player moving between two clubs belonging to associations with overlapping seasons (i.e. start of the season in summer/autumn as opposed to winter/spring) may be eligible to play in official matches for a third club during the relevant season, provided he has fully complied with his contractual obligations towards his previous clubs.
"Equally, the provisions relating to the registration periods (article 6) as well as to the minimum length of a contract (article 18 paragraph 2) must be respected."
The seasons in South Africa and Saudi Arabia run concurrently, so it appears as though there will be no relief there.
Ajax would not comment on the merits of their arguments when questioned by KweséESPN, saying they will make a statement based on the outcome of Monday's hearing.
But reports suggest they are banking on their interpretation of FIFA rule 5.4 as meaning they could register and play Ndoro: "Under all circumstances, due consideration must be given to the sporting integrity of the competition. In particular, a player may not play official matches for more than two clubs competing in the same national championship or cup during the same season, subject to stricter individual competition regulations of member associations."
So essentially they are saying that they believed that he was eligible because he only played for one other South African club, Pirates.
But that appears to be clutching at straws because in this instance it would still go against rule 5.3.
Ajax may well pass the blame back to the PSL, who are the overall authority on player registrations in South Africa and must take responsibility for who is eligible to play in their league.
Ajax could claim that if the PSL passed Ndoro as fit to be registered, then the club cannot he held responsible once his playing card was issued. As far as they were concerned, everything is above board.
That is a strong argument, unless specific questions were asked by the PSL to Ajax over his eligibility and his previous playing stints this season and they were misled, although it is surely still the PSL's domain to police this and check that the facts presented are correct.
The "three clubs rule" is often flouted across the world and not all that strongly enforced by FIFA, but the problem for the PSL and Ajax is that a challenge by other clubs in the League over the registration would surely be successful.
And you can bet your bottom dollar that whoever is involved in the relegation scrap will be headed straight for the PSL's Dispute Resolution Chamber or the courts.
In short, it is a mess. For the player, the club and the League.