In a cruel twist of fate, the AUSC Blacks Division 3 men’s teams have been promoted and relegated in the same day.

Today, the SA Amateur Soccer League announced that due to a higher division team withdrawing from the competition, the top three Division 3 teams would be promoted.

Alas, the Marian Chmielewski-led scholars of 2017 were set to be promoted having finished in third place.

For the first time since 2007, the AUSC Black’s second squad will play in the second division.

Or will they?

Remember the AUSC Black’s Premier Division squad? They lost key players to the club’s new State League teams and finished at the salty end of their table.

With Blacks 1 relegated to Division 2 for the first time in a decade, a Blacks derby ensues with Blacks 2’s promotion.

But under a technicality in the league rules, no club can have two squads in the same competition.

So effectively, Blacks 2 can’t go up. They have been promoted to Division 2 and relegated back down to Division 3 in the same day. Or you could look at it that they just stay where they are – but that wouldn’t make as interesting headlines.

Division 3’s fourth place, Hahndorf Soccer Club, gets the nod for promotion instead. In fairness, they deserved it until a run of poor form late in the 2017 season.

“Congratulations to all involved for achieving this result, but we will again be in Div 3 for 2018,” AUSC secretary Lucas Barsby said on Wednesday.